Flight for All
by qwq qweqq
Summary: "Not all Water Pokemon are fishes, you know. Neither are all Bug Pokemon insects. Not even Ghost Pokemon are all completely immaterial and able to phase through walls. Dragons... All right, I'll give you that one - wait, no, Altaria! The point is, why are all Flying-type trainers Bird Keepers?" Set parallel to the Emerald story, with BW2/XY mechanics. Gen.
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Consider that applicable to the rest of the story.**

**Chapter 1: Prelude**

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen! This is the match you've all been waiting for. Aiming to defend his title is Rock-typed specialist Jakob Marche of Fallabor Town – the first champion hailing from Fallabor since Avery Ashpenn took the title twenty-four years ago! Jakob's team, commonly called "The Solid Rock", is famous for holding together a strong defense while retaliating with tough attacks! In the matches leading up to the final, Jakob has shown his Lunatone, Magcargo, Armaldo, Cradily, Golem, and Tyranitar, making up his full team of six!"

"Aiming to dethrone him is Mossdeep's own Tidal Princess, Waverly Rynn, with her team of water-types – Starmie, Ludicolo, Whiscash, Pelipper, Kingdra and Lanturn! This is Waverly's third try at the championship, having placed in the top four in both of her past challenges!"

"This battle is a six-on-six battle with not time limit, and trainers are allowed to substitute their Pokemon at any time. Will today be third time lucky for Waverly? Or will Jakob take home the trophy once more? Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you... the Hoenn League Finals!

"Zell!"

"Obelith."

Waverly bit her lip as her Lanturn landed on the smooth battlefield ground, facing off against her opponent's Golem. The average Golem, even trained to the extent that she knew Jakob's Golem was trained, wouldn't be able to stomach a Surf attack, let alone a Hydro Pump, but her Lanturn wasn't capable of the second attack, and an Earthquake – her opponent's attack of choice – would easily disrupt the wave of water that was Surf.

Besides, she knew that Jakob's Golem had the Sturdy ability, preventing her from knocking it out in a single hit; Waverly wasn't prepared to let Zell get knocked out just to deal with a Pokemon that was largely a nonissue for her team.

Tuning out the announcer's blather about her Lanturn being a terrible opening matchup for her, Waverly made the split-second decision to switch out her Lanturn. In its place, Baku the Ludicolo began to dance, and the Golem's Earthquake washed past it relatively harmlessly.

"Giga Drain, Baku," she instructed, and the Ludicolo shimmered green, summoning orbs of light to attack the Golem.

"Tch. Back, Obelith. Fial, Shell Smash," Jakob instructed from across the field, his voice carrying over the cheers of the crowd, and red light exchanged the hulking Golem for the snail-like Magcargo. The Fire-type took the Giga Drain attack with only a slight flinch, and immediately a crack split the length of the Pokemon's shell. An experienced trainer, Waverly knew what that meant – though the Pokemon's defenses were now compromised, it made up for the fact with increased speed and offenses.

"Surf," Waverly called, hoping that the large-area attack would be enough to knock out the Magcargo, a backup plan already forming in her head. Jakob Marche was a crafty trainer – though the Rock-typed specialist favoured direct, head-on attacks, one of his greatest strengths was in working around an opponent's tricky strategies to pummel their Pokemon with the earthshaking attacks of his own.

"Defensive Lava Plume and Shell Smash."

"Rain Dance," Waverly countered, Pokeball already in her hand.

A solid wall of magma rose from the ground around the Magcargo, and the Surf attack crashed into it, the two moves combining to form an impressive wall of solid rock. As the wall crumbled, Waverly barely heard a _crack_ split the air, and she knew that the Magcargo had used its second Shell Smash, further improving its offensive capabilities.

In front of the rock wall, her Ludicolo hadn't been idle. As its Surf attack crashed into the Lava Plume, the Ludicolo began an odd jig. In a matter of moments, clouds condensed above the battlefield; and as the rain began to pour and the wall began to crumble into nothing, Waverly recalled her Ludicolo. In its place, a Whiscash sat on the floor of the arena.

Knowing that the Magcargo wasn't capable of dodging her next attack, Waverly felt a surge of confidence as she ordered, "Earthquake!"

The dust from the collapsing wall was shaken up once more by the ripple of energy that spread across the floor, but when it cleared, Waverly saw not the fainted Magcargo she had been hoping to see. Rather, a Lunatone hovered serenely above the battlefield, its clear gaze fixed on its opponent.

"Psychic," Jakob commanded, his voice hard.

Waverly hesitated for a split second – no doubt, her Whiscash could knock out the Lunatone with a Waterfall, but it would take heavy damage from the Psychic in return, and she wanted to keep it healthy – Jakob's team was well-known for its debilitating Rock-typed attacks from the likes of Golem and Tyranitar.

"Cloud, Surf," she called, red light arcing towards her Whiscash. In its place, a majestic Pelipper took to the sky, enduring the Lunatone's Psychic blast and retaliating by forming a wall of water that rushed towards the Lunatone.

"Luminight, return; Forral, Ancientpower," Jakob ordered, his quick hands switching his Lunatone for a Cradily.

Having anticipated this, Waverly countered, "Close and Toxic."

The wave of water washed harmlessly over the Cradily's body, but the Pelipper followed close behind, spitting a glob of Toxic poison into its opponent's face. For its effort, the part Flying-type received a point-blank Ancientpower to its face, causing it to flutter woozily away. As the Pokemon shook off the damage, Waverly called for a Roost, only for the Cradily's second Ancientpower to knock it out before it could land.

The Water-type trainer forced down the rage and worry with practiced ease, projecting a calm appearance as she shuffled her Pokeballs in her hand. "Baku," Waverly called, and the Ludicolo materialised on the battlefield.

"Giga Drain," Jakob ordered coolly.

"Protect," Waverly countered, and the Cradily's Giga Drain attack, manifesting as a series of light green orbs, bounced off the Ludicolo's green shield.

_She's stalling for Toxic damage,_ Jakob frowned to himself. Cradily could be quite a chore to knock out, even with Ice Beam at his opponent's disposal. "Forral, back. Fial, forwards."

Waverly grinned as the familiar red light heralded Cradily's retreat from the battlefield. "Baku, Surf!"

"Lava Plume," Jakob countered, "defensive, then attack."

As the rain ceased and the clouds cleared, a wall of magma sprouted around the Magcargo, shielding it from the full force of the Surf attack and once again greating a majestic, solid wall of rock that almost instantly began to crumble. As dust filled the battlefield, magma began to erupt around Waverly's Ludicolo, but a quick motion of her hands switched the part-Grass type for a part-Dragon type that wasn't fazed at all by the flame.

"Whirlpool, Shiva," she instructed her Kingdra, hoping to trap the Magcargo to knock it out.

And _of course_ her opponent had to switch the Fire-type for his Cradily. The fossilized plant reared its head, the water washing harmlessly over it and powering up its attacks. Waverly called for an Ice Beam, only for Jakob to switch again, calling out his Tyranitar. The dinosaur-like Pokemon stomped hard on the ground as it appeared, sand swirling around it in the beginnings of a sandstorm, and though the Ice Beam pushed the Tyranitar backwards, it quickly shook off the attack and began to deploy a Stone Edge from afar, the attack beginning to erupt from beneath her Kingdra.

That, though, was the thing about Tyranitar – they were powerful offensive and defensive behemoths, but the dinosaur was _slow,_ and Waverly's lightning-quick hands switched out her Kingdra. "Gilgamesh," she called, "Earthquake, then Waterfall!"

"Back – Forral! Giga Drain!"

The Whiscash took the Stone Edge attack without so much as a flinch, and retaliated with a brutal Earthquake that failed to connect with its target. Instead, Jakob's Cradily once more took the field, preparing a Giga Drain that would be certain to knock out her Whiscash.

"Wait for it," Waverly hissed – "return! Shiva, Ice Beam!"

"Back! Targuan, Crunch!"

Only one of Waverly's Pokemon was particularly quick, and just as the blue light of Kingdra's Ice Beam arced across the field, Waverly took a risk, recalling her Kingdra. In its place, Cosmos the Starmie spun nimbly out of the way of the Tyranitar's Crunch.

Fielding a Starmie against a Tyranitar wasn't a particularly good decision, and as soon as the Starmie was out of danger, her hands flashed forwards, switching her Starmie for her Whiscash-

"Targuan, Pursuit!"

_Damn seas,_ Waverly groaned mentally, as the Tyranitar tackled the red light of the Pokeball's beam, unbelievably knocking back the arcing light. Though her Starmie was recalled into its Pokeball, she knew without checking that the Pokemon was unconscious.

Waverly's eyes flicked around the battlefield – the swirling sandstorm was beginning to die down, and a quick snap of her wrist fielded her Kingdra once more. The two trainers locked eyes for a moment, the same thought running through their minds – _what are you going to do now?_

In a heartbeat, the two trainers made their move. Jakob recalled his Tyranitar, switching it for the Cradily that prevented Waverly from throwing out Surfs and Hydro Pumps at will. The Grass-type Pokemon materialised as Waverly's Kingdra motioned with its head to the sky, summoning rain clouds once more.

An Ice Beam arced towards the Cradily, and Wil quickly switched in his Tyranitar to take the hit, sand swirling around its body and causing the rain clouds to dissipate. The behemoth lumbered towards her Kingdra with surprising speed, shouldering aside a Hydro Pump with a pained grunt and landing a particularly devastating Crunch on the largely immobile sea dragon.

"Again, Crunch."

"Switch out-"

"Pursuit."

The Tyranitar once again snapped at the beam of red light that was the retreating form of the Kingdra, and Waverly winced, hoping against hope that her Kingdra was still conscious. A quick glance at the scoreboard, mounted behind the battlefield and in full view of the audience, told her otherwise. She was now down 6-3, having lost her Pelipper, Starmie and now her Kingdra, and not even Jakob's Magcargo or Golem had been knocked out.

Kyogre _damn_ that Cradily. Waverly's eyes focused on Jakob's team leader, the hulking Tyranitar; the behemoth had shrugged off two Ice Beams and now a Hydro Pump, and was now noticeably pained. She shuffled her three remaining Pokeballs in her hand before selecting one.

"Gilgamesh, Earthquake," she ordered, the fish materialising and immediately pounding the ground with its tail, and Jakob barely reached his Pokeball in time to withdraw his Tyranitar from the field.

"Now Waterfall!"

Waverly grinned outright at the trapped look on Jakob's face. As the red light from his Pokeball began to take the shape of his Lunatone, Gilgamesh, in a display of strength, leaped forwards, propelled by its tail, and surged upwards with a spray of water, tackling the Rock-type Pokemon from below and knocking it upwards, the fish surging past it before landing heavily on top of it.

"Switch out-"

"Oh, no, you don't. Earthquake!"

Lunatone, like Cradily, was essential to Jakob's team. Its Levitate ability shielded it from being harmed by Ground-type attacks, covering the Rock-typed team's weakness to Ground-typed attacks. This protection, however, didn't apply when the normally floating Meteorite Pokemon was pinned to the ground by a much larger, whiskered Fish Pokemon, and the Lunatone, at the epicentre of the Earthquake, fainted immediately.

With this came the realisation that, while Cradily's Storm Drain ability prevented her from ordering Surfs at will, the Lunatone's Levitate ability was no longer an obstacle to her Whiscash's Earthquake attacks, and perhaps the one-sided match, somehow in favour of the underdog, was no longer so unbalanced.

"Obelith," Jakob called after a few moments of thought, tossing a Pokeball as far across the field as he could. "Rollout to close in."

_He's planning something, _came the immediate realisation, and with it a half-second of hesitation. "Earthquake," Waverly called, fully aware that the Golem was almost close enough to her Whiscash to hit it, and the powerful Ground-type attack rocked the field, causing the Golem to unravel from the rollout, visibly pained and only conscious due to its Sturdy ability, preventing it from being knocked out in a single hit.

"Counter," Jakob spoke, his voice carrying calmly across the battlefield, and the Golem roared audibly above the cheers of the crowd, its rage and pain carrying it into a single, dominating punch that sent her Whiscash flying and crashing into the ground, clearly unconscious and unable to continue.

Waverly bit her lips nervously, forcing herself to calm down. The Golem was already weakened to the point that any connected attack would knock it out, and his Cradily was poisoned. Her Lanturn could take out the Golem, with Surf to deal with his other Pokemon and Ice Beam for the Cradily. It was, at least, capable of taking a few Giga Drain attacks, despite its weakness to Grass, and that many Ice Beams, combined with the poison, would easily knock out the Grass-type. From there, it was just a matter of Surfing his Rock-types into oblivion.

"Zell," Waverly started.

"Rollout to close and Explode."

_Damn it._ "Surf, Surf!" Waverly called, panicking.

As the Lanturn materialised, its opponent slid to a stop beside it. A split second later, the arena was filled with dust and debris, and as it cleared, the smoke revealed an unconscious Golem – no surprises there – and her Lanturn, weak, but unbelievably still able to continue. There was no way the Electric-type was capable of sweeping, now, though.

Jakob casually switched in his equally weak Tyranitar. "Earthquake," he ordered calmly.

"Rain Dance," Waverly called, and the clouds started forming, clearing the sandstorm away, just as Jakob's Tyranitar unleashed an Earthquake that knocked out her Lanturn.

Waverly was down to her Ludicolo, faced against Jakob's Tyranitar, Magcargo, Cradily and... wasn't his last Pokemon an Armaldo? All four of his Pokemon sported a water weakness except Cradily, but she could stall out the Grass-type with Protect. Ice Beam would have been a better choice, but her Ludicolo had already used four different moves – ordering a fifth was grounds for disqualification.

A single Giga Drain, and the Tyranitar slumped over, but the match wasn't done yet. Her Ludicolo, by virtue of its Rain Dish, was recovering its health in the pouring rain – combined with Protect, Waverly was reasonably certain she could still win.

"Cretacil, X-Scissor."

Jakob's final Pokemon, an Armaldo, revealed itself, surging forwards in an unnatural burst of speed under the deluge of water. Waverly had just enough time to think, _Kyogre's seas, that Armaldo has Swift Swim,_ before the super-effective X-Scissor attack knocked her Ludicolo out in one clean hit before it could launch an equally fatal Surf.

And she had been _so_ certain that the championship was hers, this year – matched against a Rock-type trainer with two debilitating weaknesses to Water attacks in Golem and Magcargo. She didn't even land a single hit on either Pokemon.

Waverly sighed, recalling her fainted Ludicolo as the stadium erupted into cheers. "What an astounding performance by Jakob, triumphing easily over the Tidal Princess despite his type disadvantage! Ladies and gentlemen, Hoenn League Champion for the second year running... Jakob Marche, the Solid Rock of Fallabor!"

* * *

**I've updated this chapter, because it used to be really terrible.**

**Next Chapter date (dd/mm/yy): 02/01/14. That's what the old Chapter 1 said, so I'll just leave it here.**


	2. Commencement

**I guess I should now take the time to welcome you to my first story, Flight for All. The story will run parallel to Emerald's story, overlapping at certain points (this is why May is listed as a main character), but with BW2 and XY mechanics. Battle mechanics will mostly work as they do in-game, with a dose of common sense (no, your Diglett isn't going to be able to hit a Flying Pokemon with Slash if it's strafing from afar with ranged attacks. Try Rock Slide). **

**This fic is rated T for language, but that's pushing it a bit; K+ would probably fit. ****Canonically, the Pokemon world is portrayed as a very utopian place with few exceptions, and I've tried to stick to that.**  


**The story has a decent sized buffer and a story outline, and if you didn't notice, the end of every chapter will tell you when the next one is going to be up. Perks of having a buffer, and all. The chapter will be up, without fail, on or before the given date.  
**

**Commencement is a very, very short chapter, which is why I've chosen to put it up early.  
**

**Chapter 2: Commencement**

* * *

Wil hesitated at his bedroom door, one hand reaching for the handle while the other toyed nervously with the hem of his dark jacket. _I don't want to do it. But if I can only... _Steeling himself, he pushed open the door and made his way downstairs.

"Happy birthday, Wil!" Seated at a small glass table, his mother beamed at him, pushing a plate of buttered toast in his direction. "How does it feel to finally be sixteen?"

"Same as it did yesterday," came the reply. "This isn't my bag, Mother," Wil continued, glancing at the bright red bag at the kitchen door.

"Of course it is, dear. That's your birthday present – from me to you. I've already moved all your things into you new bag." Wil sighed, gesturing in agreement. He had liked that bag. "Jakob should be back with his present any time now," his mother continued.

"Of course," a voice agreed, "couldn't miss my kid brother's sixteenth, could I?" Jakob swaggered into the small kitchen, a red-and-white ball in his hand. "Hey kiddo; happy birthday," he greeted, pushing the ball into his brother's hand.

Wil stared dully at the capsule containing his first Pokemon. "It's a Trapinch," Jakob offered helpfully. "They don't start off all that strong, but eventually that little guy will become a Flygon. They're one of the weaker dragons, but he's still gonna be a force to reckon with."

"How wonderful," Wil's mother beamed, "Your starter Pokemon is a majestic dragon! See how considerate your brother is!"

"Not a dragon yet," Wil muttered through the toast in his mouth, "and one of the weaker dragons anyway. Where's my Pokedex?"

"I put it in your bag, next to the tent."

_Instead of in the Pokedex-sized, Pokedex-shaped pocket at the front of the bag. Thanks a lot, mother. _Wil fished out his Pokedex and scanned the Trapinch's Pokeball. _Bite, Faint Attack, Sand Attack, Sand Tomb and Quick Attack_. "Quick Attack? Trapinch doesn't learn Quick Attack naturally," he voiced out loud, and his brother grinned.

"You didn't think your first Pokemon would be anything but the best I could get for you, did you? Quick Attack is one of Trapinch's known Egg Moves. You do remember Advanced Pokemon Breeding, don't you?"

_Egg Moves are moves that a Pokemon may not learn by itself, but can learn if one of its parents knows the move. The move is passed on genetically, and the child Pokemon is born knowing the move, _his mind supplied helpfully in his teacher's voice. "That so, huh?" Wil asked aloud, quickly navigating to the Pokedex's page on Trapinch. "It also learns the likes of Earth Power and Signal Beam as Egg Moves," he said aloud, reading from the list his Pokedex displayed helpfully.

"Come on! Your Pokedex should tell you that Trapinch's Special Attack is absurdly low. What use does it have for moves like that?"

Quickly flipping through a few pages, Wil retorted, "Flygon's Special Attack rating, on the other hand, is above average."

An unreadable expression flickered across Jakob's face, then he chuckled, "Go find a Move Tutor, then! You know, when your Pokemon can actually use those moves?"

"Right, right," Wil muttered, carefully masking his irritation.

"Well, come on, then! Let out your Pokemon and get to know it before you head out into the wide, unknown world." With that, Jakob reverted to his cheery self, with no sign of the tense exchange that had just transpired. Wil frowned at his brother, but complied, clicking open the red-and-white sphere. The bug-like Trapinch, his first Pokemon, looked warily around. Catching sight of the Pokeball and Pokedex in Wil's hand, it evidently came to the conclusion that this was his trainer, and began to move toward him. Mistrust was still evident in its expression, but it at least seemed willing to work with him. _I suppose that's as good a start to this as I can ask for._ "Solitude," he muttered to the Trapinch. "Just you and me, now."

* * *

"All done," the nurse beamed at Wil, placing his Pokedex and Solitude's Pokeball on the counter, along with what appeared to be a small leather wallet. Flipping it open revealed a card with his picture on it, next to his name, date of birth, and address. On the other side of the wallet was space for eight badges in two neat rows of four.

Tucking his newly acquired Trainer Card into his inner jacket pocket, Wil followed his brother out of the Pokemon Centre, asking, "Where, exactly, are we headed?"

"Route 114," Jakob replied, banking a sharp left.

"And what, exactly, are we doing here?" Wil quizzed as he stepped off the sturdy wooden bridge that linked Fallabor Town to the grassy fields bordering Meteor Falls.

"Why, catching your first Pokemon, of course! Up to you what you want to get, though," came the reply, and Wil's eye caught the fluttering form of a Swablu.

_No,_ he decided, even as his gut told him that his mother would approve wholeheartedly. Altaria were, after all, Dragon-types. Still not the strongest dragons, but dragons were dragons, right? Rock-types weren't necessarily weak, but they were hardly as famously powerful as Dragon-types. It would be almost... cheap.

Even as he came to this conclusion, Jakob pointed, "How about that Swablu? They evolve into Dragon-types; you could become a Dragon Tamer," and even as Wil opened his mouth to protest, his brother encouraged, "Come on – send out your Trapinch! That Swablu's getting away!"

Backed into a corner, Wil reluctantly let out the bug-like Trapinch, who regarded the two humans with a critical eye. "Have Trapinch use Faint Attack on the Swablu," Jakob directed.

"Faint Attack on the Swablu," Wil echoed, and the Trapinch turned, tackling the bird-like Swablu out of the air. Irritated, the Swablu turned and began to unleash a series of Pecks on its assailant.

"While it's close, use Bite," Jakob suggested.

"Bite it while it's close, Solitude," Wil echoed, and the Trapinch did as was ordered, clamping down on the wild Swablu's wing, shaking it before tossing it with a sharp cry.

"That's Sing," Jakob noted, as Swablu hopped backwards, obviously injured, and began to chirp a melodious tone. "It's trying to lull your Trapinch to sleep. Here," Jakob pushed a Pokeball into his brother's hand, "throw this at the Swablu. Hopefully, it'll take."

Though the Swablu struggled, it eventually succumbed to the Pokeball, and Wil picked up the red sphere, weighing it in his hand.

"By the way," Jakob inquired, stepping forwards, "Solitude?"

"A Pokemon journey is different from just being home alone," Wil noted. "While you can have travelling partners, and your Pokemon make great companions, it's still the first time I'll be truly alone." The lie rose easily to his lips as red light flashed towards the object of their discussion.

"Never took you to have such deep thoughts," Jakob joked.

"I took Literature," Wil replied drily, eliciting a sharp laugh from his brother.

"What about Swablu?"

"Echo," came the instant reply, followed by a long pause as Wil's mind whirred. "Swablu and Altaria are beautiful singers, and I wanted something sound-based. It's a nice name, anyway."

"Nothing so deep behind that," Jakob noted.

"You have no idea."

* * *

On his fifth day of training at Route 114, Wil trekked into Meteor Falls, sought out the smallest Zubat he could find, and promptly caught it. _Spiteful,_ he thought grimly to himself.

* * *

**Next chapter due (dd/mm/yy): 06/01/14  
**


	3. Duality

**This chapter is double the length of the previous one, but that doesn't really mean much when Chapter 5 is double the length of this one. And this chapter isn't particularly great, anyway.  
**

**You might notice that chapters are coming up before the given date. This is normal, in the same way that you are allowed to submit your homework early.  
**

**Chapter 3: Duality**

* * *

Ever since the minimum age of trainers had been raised to 16, gym leaders began to find that challengers seeking their first badge were a lot harder to beat with Pokemon at the prescribed power level. Already a proposal to raise the levels of Gym Pokemon was making its rounds though the League bureaucracy, and with this in mind, Wil set off towards Lavaridge a week after his birthday, three Pokeballs nestled in his jacket's inner pocket. The gleeful growls of Spinda and, on occasion, Skarmory's haughty cry echoed from the hardy trees around him as he trekked down the worn path through the forest, adjusting the brim of his dark hat on occasion to keep the ash from falling into his eyes.

A flash of purple and blue caught his eye, hidden amidst the trees and cloaked by falling ash, and he groaned, "Oh, it's you again. I thought I'd seen the last of you."

Turning, Wil began to make his way off the path, but a haughty voice stopped him. "Oh, it's you again. I thought I'd seen the last of you."

Without missing a beat or turning around, Wil shot back, "Well, since we're in agreement for once, why don't I just go hide and you can be on your merry way?"

Matthew – for of course it had to be Matthew Llednar, no one else shared his obnoxious voice and penchant for purple shirts and blue jeans – replied, "Hide? With that... distress beacon on your back? Your taste in bags sucks, just like the rest of you. Come on, let's fight! I'm not missing this chance to give you a good thrashing!"

_Yep. Definitely Matthew._

"Well, that's hardly fair," Wil commented, "you have a good two weeks' worth of experience on me as a trainer. Then again, I guess you were always too cowardly to pick fair fights." Turning, Wil looked his rival in the eye, relishing the sight of the twitch in his eyelid.

"That mouth of yours has gotten you into a whole lot of trouble," Matthew snarled, releasing his Seviper. "I'm going to wipe that smirk off your damn face!"

Wil barked a short, sharp, derisive laugh. "You never could beat me at anything that needed an actual brain, could you?" Red light signalled the appearance of Solitude the Trapinch, who regarded its opponent warily.

The past week of training had yielded fairly large returns for Wil's motley crew of three. Echo the Swablu had dropped its resentment towards Wil and Solitude within the first two days, and had proven itself to be a fairly capable battler.

Surprisingly, Wil's Pokedex had identified Spiteful the Zubat as almost fully grown despite its small size. Less surprising, of course, was the Pokemon's incredibly timid nature. It had taken almost a whole day to convince the poor bat that no, neither he nor his two Pokemon meant it any harm. Ever since, the Zubat had taken quite a shine to him, regarding him as almost a protector.

Solitude, though... the Trapinch was a huge enigma to him. It was perfectly willing to follow his command in battles, but outside it, the antlike Pokemon was quiet and reclusive, seemingly unwilling to interact with him or his other Pokemon.

_There'll be time to ponder this later._ Wil shook the thoughts out of his head and ordered, "Sand Tomb, right in front of you."

Simultaneously, Matthew commanded, "Bite!"

_That Seviper takes after its trainer,_ Wil decided, as the snake rushed in and bit down on his Trapinch. _Direct, headstrong and overreliant on sheer strength._ Solitude's Sand Tomb attack activated, swirling around the snake in a painful vortex and forcing it to drop its target, which scurried away to a safer distance. _Perhaps I can take advantage of this._ "Sand Attack, Solitude," he instructed, "then take cover behind a tree."

"Coward," Matthew accused as his Seviper's Bite missed Solitude by mere inches, the Ground-type Pokemon scuttling behind a tree.

"Hardly," Wil replied, calling for a Faint Attack. "Just making full use of what I have." The Seviper lunged at Solitude only to take the debilitating Dark-type attack from behind, and as it whirled around, Wil instructed his Pokemon to take cover.

"Poison Tail, Scalar," Matthew hissed, and the Seviper lashed out, catching its opponent across the side, knocking it back a fair distance.

"Shake it off and take cover, Solitude, then use Sand Tomb," Wil instructed, and the attack erupted under the Seviper as it slithered around the tree. Despite Matthew's cocky facade, Wil could tell that the only thing keeping him in the fight was the two weeks' worth of extra experience he had. "Back off, Solitude," he called, and the Trapinch positioned itself behind yet another tree.

"Fight me straight, coward," Matthew hissed, as Solitude struck with yet another Faint Attack. This time, though, its opponent held its ground and lashed out with another Poison Tail, knocking the Trapinch into a small clearing.

_...damn._

Still surrounded by a debilitating vortex of sand, the Seviper slithered into the clearing as Solitude righted itself. _It'll be fine,_ Wil thought, _the residual damage from Sand Tomb will finish it._ As the thought crossed his mind, though, the sand dissipated into nothingness, leaving a battered, but still conscious serpent.

"Bite," Matthew roared, and the Seviper lunged into action.

"Solitude," Will shouted, his mind snapping to a decision, "Quick Attack!"

Almost faster than his eye could track, the Trapinch lunged at its opponent, scoring a solid headbutt on the Seviper, cleanly knocking it out.

"Wait, what?" Matthew stared at the unconscious form of his Seviper, sprawled near the edge of the clearing, and the tired, yet victorious form of the ant-like Trapinch. "Trapinch can't even learn Quick Attack!"

Feigning surprise, Wil commented, "I thought you only slept in Math and Physics classes, not Pokemon Battling or Breeding. Guess you've proven me wrong on both of those." Stepping forwards, he smirked, stretching out a hand. "My prize?"

"Just you wait," Matthew snarled, shoving a small wad of bills into Wil's hand and recalling his Seviper, "I'll get you back for this!" With that, the purple-clad trainer stormed off towards Fallabor town.

"Return, Solitude," Wil muttered, absent-mindedly recalling his Trapinch.

* * *

"Why, if it isn't Wil Marche, huff-puff!" The balding, middle-aged man greeted the Pokemon Trainer at his doorstep. "Set out for your journey already, have you? Come in, come in! You're welcome to have lunch with us, huff-puff. Elsa," he called, "set an extra place at the table!"

"Thank you, sir," Wil replied politely, stepping inside and shedding his blazer and hat.

Mr. Glass had moved into the specially-built house on Route 113 when his daughter Elsa was just two years old, declaring that "Mt. Chimney's ash is the best for making glass, huff-puff!" Since that day, Mr. Glass had endeared himself to nearby Fallabor with his friendly nature, odd accent and superb cooking that, quite uncommonly in the town, didn't possess the slightest taste of ash. Few people, however, were close to the Glass family than Wil Marche, who counted 14-year-old Elsa Glass as one of his few friends.

"Elsa," Wil greeted the blue-clad teenager as she emerged with a plate and a set of utensils, "gotten over that crush of yours yet?"

The girl blushed scarlet, though, expecting a verbal jab of some sort, she didn't fumble. "It's not stupid," she insisted. "And what happened to your bag? It looks like something your mother would buy."

"Funny story about that, actually-"

"Oh? What's this about a crush, huff-puff?" The short conversation had instantly perked the interest of Mr. Glass, who looked with no small amount of amusement at his daughter, undoubtedly sensing a great topic to tease her about.

Said daughter opened her mouth to respond, but Wil cut her off. "Elsa has it bad for my brother. I don't know why; Jakob doesn't even know she exists." Turning to the girl, he continued, "Seriously, last time I told him you said 'Hi,' he asked me, 'Who's Elsa?' The idiot has eyes only for Meredith Llednar, anyway. You can do better than him."

"She could do a lot worse, though," Mr. Glass announced gleefully, "like that Matthew kid, huff-puff."

He was about to continue teasing his daughter, but Wil interrupted, sensing her discomfort. "Speaking of Matthew, I trashed him in a battle earlier. Less than an hour ago."

Elsa's eyes lit up as her father excused himself to prepare lunch. "Serves him right, that prick," she grinned. "Tell me more about the battle."

* * *

"Seriously?" Elsa gasped, spoon halfway to her mouth. "You did that three times, and he still tried direct attacks?"

"Didn't even have the sense to keep away," Wil grinned.

"You should let your team out, huff-puff," Mr. Glass offered. "They're probably as hungry as we are, and I've a good stock of Pokemon food. Elsa wants to meet your Solitude anyway, right, huff-puff?" He stood, turning towards the kitchen, leaving the two teenagers at the table.

"Well?" She grinned at him, and Wil sighed in mock defeat, letting out his Swablu.

"This is Echo," he introduced, the bird fluttering around cheerfully before perching on his head, regarding Elsa with a curious gaze.

"She's cute," the girl declared, offering the Pokemon a piece of bread.

As Echo crooned happily around the mouthful of food, Joseph let out his Trapinch, who regarded the two humans with a hint of wariness. "Solitude," he introduced. "I apologise for his attitude. Solitude listens fine in battle, but he shuns interaction. I'm not sure why, really."

Elsa plucked an Oran Berry from the basket adorning the table, offering it to the tired Pokemon. "Sounds a lot like you," she commented offhandedly. "With your personality, I'm surprised we're friends."

"Thanks for that," Wil commented sarcastically, though his longtime friend could read sincerity in his eyes. Drawing the last Pokeball from his belt, Wil released his Zubat. "And this little one is Spiteful," he finished. The timid Zubat had immediately tried to burrow into his blazer, but it only succeeded in snuggling into his sky-blue shirt. "Poor thing's confused that I took off my jacket," Wil chuckled, as he reached up, gently stroking the Pokemon's fur.

"Wow, that's the smallest Zubat I've ever seen," Elsa commented.

"I'll drink to that, huff-puff." Mr. Glass chose that moment to reappear, an open can of Pokemon food and three plastic bowls in his hands. "Spiteful, eh? What's the story behind that, huff-puff?"

"Well, she _is_ the smallest Zubat I've ever seen. Would you believe that little Spiteful is almost fully grown?" Wil commented offhandedly, then continued, "I thought she'd have been, y'know, spiteful about that. Turns out the little one is just timid."

As Wil knelt to help his host set up the food bowls, he caught Elsa's piercing gaze from across the table. _Never could lie to her,_ he thought ruefully, sighing silently and waving a hand to confirm her suspicions.

* * *

"So, you picked your type specialty yet?" Elsa questioned, leaning across the table.

"I'm afraid not," Wil chuckled. "It's a little too early for that, don't you think?"

"Matthew loves his Poison-types," the girl pointed out. "He already has, like... three of them? Yeah, sounds about right."

"Matthew is also an idiot," Wil said dismissively. "He'd be more suited to Rock-types, really. He's got a very head-on style of battling that a Rock-type Pokemon would really appreciate."

"And you have two Dragons – well, future Dragons – and two Flying-types. You could become a Dragon Master," Elsa chuckled.

"Please, not this again," Wil groaned. "It's bad enough that my own mother wants that for me."

"Not to snow on your parade, but it makes a lot of sense," Elsa noted. "Two future Dragon-types, and a tiny Zubat? No offense, little one," she chuckled as the Zubat in question tilted its head up, seemingly regarding her.

"You'd be surprised," Wil laughed. "Spiteful is timid, but she's wicked fast and really acrobatic. I think most Pokemon would be hard-pressed to hit her, and with some training, she could become a fearsome foe. Besides, I don't want to leave her behind."

"I guess I can understand that," Elsa nodded. "And your other two?"

"Echo is a bit short on attacks, right now," Wil noted. "It's a situation that will resolve itself with a bit of training. Solitude, on the other hand, is just a really slow mover. Sand Tomb, Quick Attack and Faint Attack are proving to be exceptionally useful attacks."

Elsa's eyes lit up. "Lucky," she grinned. "Figured you'd find some way to play to your Pokemon's strength."

"It's what I do," he replied. "I'm not gonna worry about the type specialty right now. I know all the reasons people are encouraged to pick them – helps your Pokemon get along, easier to train new Pokemon of that type, less burden of knowledge, and all that jazz – but it's not really something I'm going to do now. Who knows?" He grinned a crooked grin. "I may end up specialising in Steel-typed Pokemon."

"Not likely," Elsa chuckled.

"I'd do it, you know," he grinned. "Just to get an advantage over your Ice-types and Jakob's Rock Pokemon. Matthew's Poisons wouldn't be able to touch them, either."

"You're lying," she laughed out loud.

* * *

"Thanks again for having me, Mr. Glass," Wil grinned as he tugged on his jacket and adjusted his hat.

"It was my pleasure, huff-puff," the older man replied. "So when are you going to man up and ask my daughter to dinner, huff-puff?"

"Dad!" Elsa shrieked, and the three of them dissolved into howls of laughter.

* * *

**Silly Wil, you're going to specialise in Flyers. Both Jakob's Rock Pokemon and Elsa's future Ice-Types will cream you.  
**

**Next chapter due (dd/mm/yy): 09/01/13**


	4. Mentorship

**You'll start noticing this eventually, but recurring trainers tend to have themed names for their Pokemon. You'll notice how Waverly from the first chapter had six Final Fantasy references out of six Pokemon. Jakob, on the other hand, had six portmanteaus. Also, a lot of recurring OC names are references themselves (or at least they hold some other meaning) - Wil and Jakob are brothers in this one webcomic. Their last name, Marche, is from FFTA, as is Matthew Llednar's last name. Elsa's name and type preference are a Frozen reference.**

**Around here, chapters are starting to get longer - Mentorship is some 2.7k, and it mostly goes up from there. Except Flannery's Gym battle, that one is a little shorter.  
**

**Chapter 4: Mentorship**

* * *

"Ho, trainer!"

A single glance told Wil that the voice's owner was a League Ranger. Rangers, clad in distinctive red caps and jackets, were experienced trainers who patrolled the routes of Hoenn watching out for travelling trainers. Despite the falling ash coating his signature clothing a dusty grey-brown, there was no denying the man's identity, which gave Wil a good guess at his job.

"Skarmory territory, right?"

"Yep! You're from Fallabor?"

"As if my jacket and hat didn't already give it away. Before you ask, I don't have anything that can fend off an angry Skarmory, and yes, you're welcome to accompany me for my own safety. That's it, right?" Wil shot at the ranger, who was taken aback slightly.

"Hey, no need to be so sarcastic, you know? I'm just doing my job," the young man frowned.

"That's hardly going to stop me. Nothing personal," Wil replied, then inquired, "So, how much are you paid?"

"Oh, about – actually, you know what? That's none of your damn business."

"I think I'm beginning to like you," Wil grinned slightly. "My name's Wil."

"Noa," the ranger replied. "Noa Calvis, and you're Wil..."

"Just Wil," he interrupted quickly. "No point wasting time," he hurried, "let's get out of here."

Red light heralded the appearance of Noa's Manectric, a fine specimen of a Pokemon, and Wil let out Spiteful the Zubat to keep him company. Predictably, the small creature squeaked and buried itself in his jacket. "It's alright," the trainer soothed, "Noa's here to keep us safe."

The Zubat stuck its head out, ears twitching slightly, and Noa commented, "That's got to be the smallest Zubat I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of Zubat."

"She's really timid," Wil replied as they set off. He absent-mindedly reached up, stroking the Pokemon's fur softly, commenting, "I want to get her used to the idea of battling, but I'm not sure where to begin."

Noa frowned. "Honestly? I don't think she should be battling at all. Some Pokemon, just by disposition, are better off as pets than fighters. If you really wanted to, though... I'd advise you start small. Put her against one of your own Pokemon, first. Get her used to fighting at all. Then move on to one of those small Grass-types."

"Well, there's a good idea," Wil thought aloud. "Little Spiteful does have quite the advantage against Grass-types. I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier."

"You also want to play to her strengths," Noa continued as he stepped carefully around a fallen tree. "Your Zubat – watch your step! – your Zubat's quite young, I'd say no more than a couple of weeks old-"

"Actually, she's nearly fully grown," Wil cut in, smirking to himself as the ranger stumbled slightly. "Watch your step, Noa."

"Har de har," the ranger deadpanned. "As I was saying, you need to play to your Pokemon's strengths. Little thing like that isn't going to put a big dent in most Pokemon even with strong physical attacks like Brave Bird, and unfortunately for you, she's stuck with physical attacks for a while."

"Well, I could have told you that," Wil muttered, and his companion's Manectric snorted at him before continuing its constant vigilance.

"But you didn't," Noa fired back, "too late for could have." He grinned, continuing, "So what you want to do is focus on Zubat's more annoying attributes. All Zubat learn Supersonic early on, and Confuse Ray a little later. I can't believe I'm suggesting this," Noa lamented, "but keep your opponents confused with those techniques. Let them whittle themselves down."

"What, did that cost you in the League Championships or something?" Wil suggested sarcastically.

"Actually, yes. Three times, in fact." Noa shot Wil a hard look, earning a muttered apology from the beginning trainer. "Zubat is small, and fast. That should keep her out of harm's way. If you can poison your opponent, all the better." Noa laughed ruefully, no doubt thinking back to one of his failed attempts at the League championships.

"Interesting," the younger trainer muttered, drawing Spiteful from his jacket. The Zubat seemed to have realised that the humans had been talking about it, its head and ears swivelling curiously. As Wil rubbed the top of its head, it purred contentedly.

"When you get further along in your journey," Noa added, "look for someone who will teach that runt of yours Heat Wave, or Giga Drain. Maybe Nasty Plot," he chuckled.

The two trainers walked in silence for a few moments before Wil's face split into a wide grin. "So, about those three League losses..."

"I should have expected as much from you," Noa groaned good-naturedly.

* * *

"Doesn't this go against every rule in the book?" Wil questioned a few hours later, as Noa banked a sharp left, veering off the path.

"It's true that stronger Pokemon tend to stay further from the main roads," Noa agreed, "but that doesn't mean it isn't safe to camp off the road. For example," he grinned as he pushed his way into a clearing, "this site is only a short way off the main path, so the wild Pokemon aren't all that strong, even if they are a cut above the ones nearest the road. You can't really see it for the trees, here, but there's a cliff right there," Noa gestured, "maybe ten minutes away, and nestled in a cave in that cliff is a freshwater spring."

"In other words, this is pretty much the perfect camping spot," Wil summarized.

"Well, it's still Skarmory territory," Noa conceded, "but this is pretty much the best campsite in the area. You do know the basic rules for camping, right?"

"I'm a new trainer, not stupid," Wil replied. "Keep at least one Pokemon out of its ball at night, and make sure your fire is extinguished before you go to sleep unless someone will be awake to watch it the entire night."

"Wonderful, you're not stupid," the ranger chuckled. "The main reason you'll want a Pokemon out 'round here is Skarmory, so I'll settle that – although I'd advise you to let at least one Pokemon out to get used to guard duty. Let's settle our tents, first, then I can show you that cave. You have food, right?"

"I'm not stupid, remember?" Wil deadpanned, tugging his tent out of his bag.

"Conceded. In fact, I'm beginning to think you're reasonably smart," Noa joked, watching Wil set up the tent. "That tent is ranger-issue – it's waterproof, high-quality material; easy to set up and usable in pretty much all terrain." Wil looked up from hammering in a tent peg to see his companion sitting in front of his already erect tent. "Comes with the territory," the ranger snickered at the dumbfounded expression on his companion's face. "So, was it luck that you ended up with that tent?"

"Of course not," Wil replied easily, as he finished hammering his last peg into the ground.

"That means yes, right?" Noa chuckled at Wil's expression of mock outrage, then gestured to follow him. "Come on, let me show you to the cave. Leo, stand guard," he instructed the Manectric.

"Generally, most trainers are recommended to carry a water-type Pokemon," Noa remarked as he and his Magneton led Wil around a particularly thick copse of trees. "There's a part water-type for pretty much every type specialisation, and they can produce fresh water on demand. For most of Hoenn, it's not really necessary – there's fresh water nearly everywhere, here – but it's always good to have a backup. Especially around Mt. Chimney – this route is infamous for dehydration, you know, and let's not even talk about the desert."

"Even though you're showing me to a freshwater point?"

"How many people do you think know about said point?"

"...point."

"Just take enough water for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast," Noa instructed. "We'll come back tomorrow morning; that's when we'll stock up for the rest of the journey."

Wil muttered a vague noise of consent, then questioned, "Don't you have a part-water type?"

"Of course," the ranger chuckled, "but there's a freshwater source right there. I'm not going to call out Pisces for no reason, and you need to learn, anyhow. There's the cave," Noa pointed.

* * *

"Instant noodles, huh?" Wil grinned as Noa tugged a packet of noodles out of his pack, then turned to set up the fire.

"Damn right," came the reply. "They're cheap, easy to cook, lightweight, filling and compact. It's not a huge exaggeration to say that trainers subsist on instant noodles and berries. Light the fire, Leo," Noa instructed his Manectric, then turned to his companion. "Pass me your noodles, I can help you cook them."

Wil grinned widely in response, fishing out a plastic container from his backpack. "Home-cooked food, Noa. Jealous?"

Noa chuckled slightly, before his face sobered. "I don't expect you make too many friends with your charming demeanor."

"I don't," Wil admitted, a serious expression crossing his face for a moment before it was replaced by a merry smile. "Hasn't stopped me, though."

If Noa caught the flicker of sorrow, he didn't mention it, and the two companions lapsed into silence.

The sun set rapidly, and Wil released his three Pokemon to guard the camp in shifts alongside three of Noa's Pokemon.

"Rest up, Leo," Noa instructed his Manectric, then turned to the Raichu, Magneton and Galvantula beside it. "You three will be taking watch," he informed them. "Mainly, you have to look out for wild Skarmory, which none of you should be having trouble with. Wil's Pokemon will be keeping watch with you," he gestured at the Trapinch, Swablu and Zubat. "It's not the first time you've kept watch with rookie Pokemon, so I expect you can all handle yourself. Anything to add, Wil?

"Just... just watch out for Spiteful. She's the small Zubat." With that, the trainer bade his experienced companion good night, and they retired to their tents.

* * *

The night passed without incident, and in the morning, Wil and Noa shared a quick breakfast of biscuits and juice before recalling their Pokemon and dismantling their campsite.

"We'll be travelling for half a day before we leave Skarmory territory, and another half before we're largely out of the falling ash," Noa noted. "We can either make camp in the early evening, or push on another few hours to reach the old lady's rest stop."

"Is it really called that?" Wil wondered as he stepped gingerly over a particularly large root.

"Of course not," Noa chuckled. "That's just what I call it, after the old lady who runs the place. It's a family business," he explained.

The duo travelled largely without incident, passing by tottering Spinda and curious Slugma, and once, a Skarmory preening itself. The Steel-type Pokemon shot them a look of disdain, but otherwise ignored them. They broke for a quick lunch of ash-flavoured noodles – "It tastes better without the ash," Noa assured his companion – but otherwise travelled without stopping.

It was early evening by the time they emerged from the forest, the sun already hidden from view by the mountains that surrounded them. "We can either make camp there," Noa gestured to an obviously well-worn campsite, "or we can push on another few hours to the rest stop. First night's free, but you have to pay for food and subsequent nights. Quite a pricey place, too."

"An actual bed and good food, and you think I'm going to turn it down?" Wil asked, sarcastically raising an eyebrow. "I'm dead tired; you think I've ever spent a whole day walking like that?"

"You'll get used to it," replied Noa, chuckling. "Not that trainers spend the whole day walking, anyway. Most trainers spend a fair part of their day, well, training. Here," the ranger tossed a pack of biscuits at his companion, "you should eat something. The rest stop is still two hours away."

Wil's only reply was to rip open the pack.

* * *

"Get me the fried omelette with mushrooms and potato," Noa said with the ease of a regular customer, "and I have six Pokemon – a Raichu, a Manectric, a Galvantula, a Magneton, a Lanturn and an Eelektross." A wave of his hand, and the six Pokemon materialised around them, the room becoming that much more crowded. "As for my companion..."

Wil hesitated, glancing at the digital menu. "I'll have the... the fried rice," he decided.

"Fried rice," Noa repeated into the phone, "and three Pokemon – a Trapinch, a Swablu and a Zubat." As if to confirm Noa's words, Wil released his three Pokemon.

"Very well, sirs. Please listen out for the wall-mounted buzzer to the left of your computer, and come down to collect your food when it sounds."

As the phone operator hung up, Wil turned to his companion, asking, "How in the _world_ did you do that?"

"Do what?" Noa whistled innocently.

"That... that... you just waved your arm and all your Pokemon came out!"

"Oh, that," Noa smirked. "Practice. I'll show you how tomorrow. Hey," he said suddenly, "have your Zubat come over here."

Wil complied, the small Pokemon fluttering over to its trainer and perching gingerly on his shoulder. He turned to the ranger, a questioning look on his face, only to find him rifling through his backpack.

"Found it," Noa announced suddenly, drawing out a TM case and popping out a slim purple disk from within. "I came across this in my travels, few years ago," he elaborated. "Didn't have a use for it then, don't have a use for it now. It's the TM for the move Toxic."

_Toxic inflicts a foe with a debilitating poison,_ Wil recalled. It would have been more pleasant if his memory hadn't said that in the tone of his old teacher. "You're offering to teach that to Spiteful?"

"Of course. Not only will it prove incredibly useful to that bat, it fits your personality to a tee."

Wil barked a sharp laugh. "Not gonna argue with that." Scooping the Zubat off his shoulder, he set her gently on the table. "Stay calm," he whispered into its ear, then straightened, asking, "How does a TM work, exactly?"

"Like this," came the reply.

Noa pressed the disc gently to the Zubat's head, but it squeaked and pulled away, and Wil hurried to comfort it. Gently stroking the bat's soft fur, he motioned for Noa to try again. This time, though Spiteful trembled slightly, it stayed still, and the purple disc glowed briefly before returning to its former sheen.

"There, done," Noa said, putting away the TM. "Your Zubat knows the move Toxic now, but she'll need to practice it."

"Why?" Wil suddenly asked. "Why go so far out of your way to help, well, me?"

"Even though you're sarcastic, insulting and generally a terrible specimen of a human being?" At Wil's nod, he continued, "I'm a Pokemon Ranger. It's what we do."

"Sounds like a hell of a job."

"Also, my kid brother and I..." Wil winced, but Noa ignored him, continuing, "How we used to trade barbs isn't that different from how you converse with me. It's refreshing," the older man admitted. "You remind me somewhat of him. Be careful, though," the ranger warned, "your attitude towards people is going to get you in a lot of trouble someday. You may want to work on that."

"Not a chance," Wil muttered.

"Can't say I didn't try, at least," the ranger sighed. He made to continue, but was interrupted by the sound of the buzzer.

"I'll get that," Wil volunteered. "Least I can do."

"There's a folding trolley in the cupboard over there," Noa gestured. "Use that to bring up the food.

* * *

The two companions parted the next morning after a hearty, though expensive, breakfast, with Noa forcing Wil to exchange PokeNav numbers with him. "Lavaridge Town is three-and-a-half days away by the desert," the ranger informed him, "but that puts you in the desert for two days. Instead, you want to take a detour to the west, through Fiery Path. It's pretty tame for a cave, anyway. About halfway through, though, there'll be a small side-path to the... right, I think. Don't take that path, and if possible, try not to camp near it. If you don't stop, you'll be travelling about four days to Fiery Path, and another day and a half, or so, through it. That will put you about half a day from Lavaridge, and you can spend the night at the cable car station if you want."

"A good man, that Noa," Wil remarked to Echo as the Swablu fluttered alongside him. "Certainly deserves better friends than me."

* * *

**Noa's name is actually an obscure reference to this one smartphone RPG (forgot what it's called), in which the main character's father's name is Noa. It's not obvious here, but his Pokemon are named after the Zodiac.  
**

**Next chapter due (dd/mm/yy): 13/01/14**


	5. Enmity

**The much vaunted double-length Chapter 5, clocking in at some 4.4k words. At least, in my OpenOffice wordcounter. FFnet calls it closer to 4.7k. I'm not complaining about that. Honestly... not too happy with this chapter, but it's not unreadable and I can't pinpoint what exactly is bothering me about it, so here; maybe you can tell me what's wrong with it. **

**Chapter 5: Enmity**

* * *

_The good thing about practicing attacks,_ Wil reflected as Spiteful spat a glob of Toxic poison onto a flat rock, _is that it always disappears without a trace._

Pokemon researchers theorised that when a Pokemon used an attack, they would call upon latent energy in the air, converting it into whatever form they needed, before the attack reverted into energy. Although unproven, it handily explained how even small-sized Water Pokemon could use attacks like Surf, which conjured large amounts of water. It also explained why Wil could still see the black target scratched into the rock, even though Spiteful had been aiming Toxic attacks at it for what felt awfully like half the night.

That, however, was also explained by the fact that the Zubat had landed a paltry two hits on the target despite its nigh-uncountable attempts.

Wil watched the purple sludge on the rock fade into nothingness before switching off his torchlight. "It's OK, Spiteful. We'll get it next time," he muttered, the bat chittering in disappointment. "You have last watch, little one. Go get some rest. Solitude, Echo," he addressed, waving a hand in the air, "you two have first and second watch. Damn it," he muttered as only the cheerful Swablu materialised. "That still needs practice. Noa didn't mention just how hard it was. How does he do it with six Pokemon?"

He let the Trapinch out, and continued, "Wake everyone up if something happens. Solitude, you're second watch. Let Echo go first," he added as an afterthought, then disappeared into his tent.

The next day passed in much the same way as the two before it, with Wil trekking through the sparse forest that led towards Fiery Pass, Echo and Spiteful taking turns to accompany him flying through the air – or perched on his head, or nestled in his jacket. Aside from a two-hour break after lunch to work on Spiteful's Toxic attack, the trainer and his three Pokemon travelled without stopping.

As he stoked the fire that night, Wil let out his starter Pokemon to keep him company, the Ground-type materialising by his side. "Seems to me your name is actually quite fitting," he informed the Trapinch. "I know I've been spending a lot more time with Spiteful and Echo over the last few days. Get lonely for you?"

Solitude's response was a noncommital grunt. "Sounds a lot like what I'd say," the trainer chuckled, absentmindedly reaching out to pet the Trapinch's oversized head. "Little lonely, little afraid of interaction, like to push other people away. Seems you're more like me than you ought to be," he joked, and the Trapinch snorted in what he swore was amusement.

"Get some rest, Solitude," the trainer smiled slightly. "And... let's try to talk more often." Wil's hand swept out in a vertical arc, and his two other companions materialised. "Damn, I'm getting better at this. I'll keep watch with you lot tonight," he informed them, grinning crookedly. "Spiteful, you're after me, then Echo, then Solitude. Get some rest."

As the Pokemon settled down to rest, their trainer stared thoughtfully into the the fire.

* * *

"When I was young, I couldn't do anything right," Wil told his Pokemon the next night as they camped just outside the entrance to the Fiery Path. Echo, perched on his head, chirped mournfully as he poked at the fire with a stick. "I was never really _bad_ at anything, you know? Just... just average." He chuckled, a noise with no merriment.

"Everyone else was good at _something,_" he recalled. "Matthew – remember Matthew? Matthew Llednar?"

Solitude, sitting in his lap, made a noise of agreement, nodding its head slightly. "Yeah, you trashed his Seviper," the trainer grinned. "Matthew was always good at physical stuff. The sporty sort, you know. Elsa... Elsa had stellar grades in, well, everything, really. Especially those History and Linguistics classes. She'd make a great diplomat, or even a queen, if we still had those," he chuckled. "Shame to waste her cooking skills, though. That girl is even better at it than her father. "And Jakob... you all remember Jakob, don't you?"

At this, Spiteful the Zubat stuck its head out from his jacket, squeaking. "Right, I hadn't caught you yet," he recalled. "Jakob's my brother, he gave me Solitude to start my journey, and... well, he helped me catch Echo," he muttered resentfully. "Nothing agaisnt you, Echo," he reassured the bird, reaching up to stroke its fluffy wings.

"Jakob was always good at everything, too. Mother always favoured him because of that. She was rivals with Mrs. Llednar, way back when they were still trainers, and they still don't much like each other. I think she really liked to brag that Jakob was such a gifted child, but as for me... well, I don't think Mother ever understood me."

He grinned slightly, thinking of his brother's unrequited affection for Meredith Llednar, and he just _knew_ that his mother would string his brother up if she ever learned of his affections. Not that he particularly cared.

Abruptly the trainer stood, setting Solitude the Trapinch gently on the ground. "I should go to sleep," he said aloud. "Spiteful, you're first watch. Wake Echo for second, and Solitude, you're third. Wake me up if you need to."

* * *

In all the times that Wil had said that, he had never actually expected to be woken up.

Thus, it was quite a surprise to him when Spiteful the Zubat winged its way into his tent not two hours later, chittering loudly. "What is it, Spiteful?" He groaned blearily, unsuccessfully attempting to rub sleep out of his eyes.

In response, the Zubat fluttered around his head, squealing hyperactively, before zipping out of the tent, and as Spiteful's cacophony died down, other noises became audible. Specifically, one Pokemon growling suspiciously, one Pokemon chirping anxiously, and a third, human voice.

The first thought that sprang to Wil's mind as he exited the tent was that the stranger looked _unhealthy_. Even under the harsh glare of his torch, his squinting eyes could tell that her face was more pale than it was supposed to be, and her red shirt was stained brown with dust, with a noticeable rip in the side.

"Who the hell are you?" The trainer muttered blearily.

"Please, you have to help me," she begged. When Wil chose to forego a response in favour of rubbing his eyes, she continued, "My Pokemon are exhausted from trekking through Fiery Path, and we haven't eaten in... in two days."

"It takes two days to trek through that cave, doesn't it?" Wil recalled, yawning. "You're an idiot if you forgot to pack food."

"No, of course not! I had... three days worth of food, I think."

"Smart girl," he drawled, his mind defaulting to sarcasm, "but the nearest civilisation this side of Fiery Path is four days away. So, you spent... five days in that cave?"

"No! No... I spent... what day is it, today? Thursday, I think," she muttered to herself, "so... ahh... three days."

"Hmm. That's still pretty long for what's supposed to be a two-day trek. Do you always, like, move slowly, or did it just sort of strike your fancy to try a six-day trip on an injured leg?" As the girl opened her mouth to reply, he cut her off. "Eh, must be the second one. After all, you're stupid enough to try that trip on three days' worth of food. So do you eat a lot, or not a lot? Because there is contradicting evidence here-"

"Shut up," she snarled, "and help me."

As he turned to retrieve his pack from his tent, Wil, now wide awake and nursing a headache, couldn't resist one last jab. "Is that any way to ask for help?" He_ tsk_ed. "Didn't your mother teach you any better?"

If the girl was trembling in exhaustion before, now she was certainly trembling in anger, and apparently having no small difficulty biting back a sharp retort.

Wil tossed her a pack of biscuits. "Set up your tent," he clipped out, "and eat this to get your strength up. Before that, though, send out your Pokemon."

The girl's eyes narrowed insolently, but she complied, and a Slugma and a Larvesta materialised before him, both sporting haggard, exhausted appearances.

Wil was somewhat surprised by the appearance of a Pokemon as rare as Larvesta, but he hid it well, calling his two Flying-typed Pokemon to his side. "Spiteful, Echo, I need you to head out and scavenge for berries," he instructed, pressing a small cloth bag into Echo's claws. "Stick together and don't pick any fights, and be back in fifteen minutes."

Turning back, his eyes alighted on the other trainer, who was quickly being referred to mentally as Damsel In Distress. "I don't see your tent set up," he noted irritably, more than a tinge of sarcasm creeping its way into his tone. "Are you waiting for Prince Charming to do it for you?"

"I'm almost beginning to think I'd rather not have your help," the Fire-type trainer muttered insolently as she knelt, setting down her pack to retrieve her tent.

"Really? Then by all means, carry on." Wil held up four fingers in a grand gesture. "It'll take you four days to get to the nearest rest point from here. Alternatively, you go back through Fiery Path. Pick your poison." Noticing the way her eyes flicked past him, Wil barked a scornful laugh. "You'd press on? Starved of food for two days, with Pokemon just this side of fainting, and I'll bet you have no clue where to get fresh water on this route," he hissed. "This is the exact reason why the minimum age of Pokemon Trainers was raised to sixteen."

It wasn't actually the reason why the minimum age was raised, but Wil was fairly certain it was a major consideration. The actual trigger had to do with some crisis in one of the other regions – Sinnoh, he believed.

Echo and Spiteful chose that moment to return, fluttering to his side. The avian Swablu perched on his head, extending a claw to drop the bag of berries into his hand, while its companion once again opted to snuggle into his jacket. Wil deftly wound the string around the bag's mouth, preventing the berries from spilling out, before adeptly tossing the bag to Damsel In Distress. "For your Pokemon," he informed her, and the girl knelt, fumbling with the bag, as her two Pokemon crowded around her.

Before long, the berries had been consumed, and Wil pressed, "Set up your tent, and go to sleep. We leave tomorrow at dawn." He folded his arms, impatiently tapping his feet, until his new companion had entered her tent, before calling his three Pokemon to his side. "Keep watch," he muttered to them. "If she leaves her tent at all, you come straight to me and wake me up. Again, Echo, second watch. Solitude, third." With that, he turned and returned to his tent.

* * *

"What is taking you so long?" Wil drawled, tossing sand onto the fire, as Damsel In Distress crawled from her tent. "Do you need your beauty sleep, or something? Did I not say we'd be leaving at dawn?"

"Excuse me, but some people need to rest after going through hell," the girl huffed, as she attempted to straighten her brown hair.

"Don't bother with your hair, Damsel," Wil told her. "You're low enough in my eyes that it doesn't matter what you look like, anymore."

"What did you call me?" She outright snarled.

"The nickname fits, Damsel."

"My name is Emily Altro," she hissed angrily. "Use it."

"Fine, Altro," Wil relented, reluctantly dropping the (in his opinion, fitting) nickname. _Banshee might have been a more fitting nickname, though... no, no. Too cliche._

"You know, it's considered common courtesy to give your name when someone introduces themselves," Emily bit out.

"I'm sure you know all about common courtesy, Altro. Like 'how to ask people for help'," came the retort.

"Evidently I'm more polite than you," she snarled, anger flashing in her eyes.

Wil, on the other hand, was clearly enjoying how easily he pushed her buttons. "For someone who claims to be polite, you're doing an awful job at it. If you must know, my name's Wil. Thank you, Echo," he nodded at the bird that had just emerged from the trees. "Take a rest." With that, Wil retrieved the cloth pouch from the bird's claws, and with his other hand, made a vague gesture in his Swablu's direction.

To Emily's surprise, the Swablu was recalled into its Pokeball with the gesture, but she bit down on her curiosity.

Munching on a berry from the cloth pouch, Wil casually reached into his pack and drew out a packet of biscuits. "Catch," he instructed, and without further warning, tossed the biscuits towards his newest companion, who, fumbling, dropped the pack into the dirt by her feet.

"Thanks for the warning," Emily huffed, as she retrieved the biscuits and tore the pack open.

"What are you eating those for? Shouldn't you be more concerned with breaking camp?" Wil questioned. "You can eat on the way back. I haven't got all day to babysit you."

"And where do you suggest I put these, O wise one?" Emily questioned sarcastically, waving the open pack of biscuits at him. "I can't exactly take down my tent with one hand."

"Problem solved," Wil replied, crossing the distance between then in three quick strides and plucking the biscuits from her hand. "Get to it," he told her. "We're late to moving out; it's already dawn."

* * *

The two trainers hadn't yet stopped for lunch when Wil's torch illuminated a rare sight in the cave – at least, rarer than the Slugma, Numel and Koffing that they had otherwise seen.

"A Torkoal!" Not even Wil's presence by her side could dampen Emily's excitement at seeing the wild Pokemon. As a trainer of Fire-typed Pokemon, she was understandably excited at the prospect of capturing it.

"You have enough time to gallivant around and capture Pokemon? We do have a time limit, here."

Okay, so maybe he could dampen her excitement. "I don't recall taking orders from you," she snapped at him, and Wil raised two hands in a placating gesture.

How did he convey sarcasm in every action he made, anyway?

"Very well, Lady Princess," the other trainer spoke, voice dripping with sarcasm. "For your information, I only have three more packets of noodles. Tell you what, why don't I give them all to you, so that you won't starve?" Wil clipped out. "Every hour counts, and I will not have you wasting an hour on a fruitless endeavour."

"What do you mean, fruitless?" Emily fumed.

"Do you really believe that your exhausted Pokemon can take on a Torkoal in a fight, Altro? They may have rested last night and had Oran Berries, but Torkoal is a tough Pokemon to beat."

That was exactly why Emily wanted one, of course – Torkoal were well known for their defensive prowess. They were also well known for their rarity. "Fine," she huffed, reluctantly turning away from the plodding, turtle-like Pokemon.

"Good girl." Wil's voice now took on an infuriatingly indulgent tone, and it was all Emily could do not to hit him. "We'll break for lunch in an hour," he informed her, popping a berry into his mouth.

* * *

"And how do you propose we cook lunch, smart one?"

"Simple. We use your Slugma. Like so," Wil poured some of their precious water supply into Emily's cooking pan and balanced it carefully on her Slugma's body, then upended a packet of instant noodles into the pan. He ignored the Pokemon's feeble protest.

"Now all we have to do is wait for the noodles to finish cooking." A wave of his hand, and Wil's three Pokemon materialised. "Say, you three. Help me find a nice, flat rock."

"You're not eating?" Emily questioned.

"Nope," came the reply. "I've been munching on berries all morning; I'm not hungry. Worry about yourself, Damsel," he teased.

"Don't call me that!"

* * *

"And where do you think you're going, Altro?"

"This is the way out. I would have thought you'd known that, given your extensive experience with this cave," Emily bit out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Given your track record, I'd say no experience is better," Wil retorted. _About halfway through, though, there'll be a small side-path to the... right, I think. Don't take that path, and if possible, try not to camp near it._ Wil's mind played back the advice Noa had given him, as well as the elaboration. "You sure you came from there?"

"Positive," Emily insisted.

"In that case, we're going the other way."

"What? Why?"

"Did you even do any research before setting out?" Wil questioned incredulously. "Did you ever wonder why Fiery Path was considered an open-and-shut cave, when you took five days to navigate it?"

"Three days," Emily corrected him self-righteously.

"Fine,_ three days_," Wil conceded. "Which is still twice the amount of time anyone else takes to navigate this place!" He waved a hand at the side path. "The wild Pokemon on the main route are pretty tame, just like on the road. Going down that path is akin to going off-road. Tell me," he hissed, "how strong do the wild Pokemon get when you travel off-road?"

Wil sincerely hoped that his companion was stunned into silence.

Glancing at his PokeNav, Wil waved a hand at the main path. "We still have a few hours until dinner," he informed her. "Let's make the most of them." Without waiting for a reply, he set off.

* * *

The two companions made camp about three hours later; Wil setting up his tent in about half the time it took Emily, with the other half spent mocking her. To her credit, the brown-haired girl didn't respond to his jabs, instead opting to fume to herself.

"I don't think that zip goes there, Altro," Wil called. His hand arced grandly through the air, and to his pleasure, his Trapinch, Swablu and Zubat materialised. "Getting better at this," he grinned to himself. "Come on, it's time for dinner. Help me find one of those flat rocks - the same sort we used for lunch." Spiteful immediately sped off into the darkness of the cave, with Echo and Solitude following more cautiously, making sure to stay within the small portion of the cave illuminated by Wil's torchlight.

To no one's surprise, the cave-dwelling Spiteful soon began to chitter excitedly. Turning his flashlight in its direction, Wil saw his Zubat perched on a disk-shaped stone that would make an ideal lunch bowl for the Pokemon with. "Perfect," he grinned, picking it up and bringing it to the centre of their makeshift camp.

As with lunch, Emily's Slugma didn't object terribly to being used as a heater, so while their Pokemon ate the food set out for them on the flat rock, Wil and Emily balanced their cooking pans, filled with instant noodles and water, on Slugma's body, and before long, the water was bubbling.

"Eat, and sleep," Wil instructed his companion. "Solitude, Echo, Spiteful, to me," he called, and the three Pokemon hurried over. "You're on watch the whole night, Spiteful," he informed the Zubat. "Don't push yourself, though; wake Echo or Sol up if you need to." The Trapinch appeared slightly surprised by its shortened name, but it didn't protest, and Wil turned to his noodles, wolfing them down hungrily.

As Emily retired to her tent, Wil rifled through his bag, counting his supplies. "Three packs of biscuits left," he muttered to himself. "I suppose there's nothing we can do about it." Turning, he, too, retired to his tent.

* * *

They broke camp the next morning - not that they could particularly tell in the light of the cave - and began the trek out, each trainer eating from a pack of biscuits. Neither trainer spoke; Emily was still irritated by her companion, while Wil was simply conserving his energy.

"Aren't we going to break for lunch?" Emily questioned a few hours later.

"Nope," came the reply.

"Why not?" She huffed, "People need to eat, you know."

"Eat too much, and you'll grow fat," Wil retorted.

"Eat too little, and you'll colla- ow! Hey, that's my eye! Watch where you're throwing things!"

"Really? If you don't want that, I'll take it back," Wil waved at the pack of biscuits lying on the floor. "Either way, we aren't breaking for lunch. Eat while you walk, Altro."

He ignored Emily's wordless snarl, electing to continue walking.

* * *

The remainder of the trek passed uneventfully, and before long, Wil and Emily stepped out the cave entrance. The harsh glare of the afternoon sun beat down on them, making them squint in the light, but Emily resolved not to let that beat down her mood.

"Finally, we're out of that cave," Wil muttered. "Now I can ditch you." Turning, the trainer began to stride towards the cable car station.

"Wait up, prick!"

"Or not," he sighed. "What is it, Damsel? Obviously you've no more use for me now that we're out of the cave, so let me ditch you in peace."

"I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" Emily snarled at him. "I want payback!"

Wil arched an eyebrow. "Payback for what?" He questioned sarcastically. "For saving your sorry ass, or for feeding you at the expense of my own hunger? That reminds me, I don't do battles before lunch."

"What-"

"I haven't eaten since that pack of biscuits this morning, smart one," he drawled. "Let me get some food in my stomach first, then I'll thrash you."

"You slimy little worm! Get back here!"

"You're welcome to wait here for me like the fool you are," Wil called over his shoulder without breaking step. "Alternatively, pretend to be smart and go ahead to Lavaridge. I'll be there to thrash you in the evening."

Fuming, Emily turned and stalked off toward Lavaridge.

* * *

"This payback is long due!" Emily snarled.

"I'm sorry, perhaps you'll have to put it on interest. I do so love the amusing expression on your face when you get angry," Wil drawled tauntingly.

The two trainers stood on opposite sides of a small battlefield in Lavaridge town, Emily gripping her Pokeball tightly, while Wil casually tossed his own Pokeball up and down.

An unseen accord passed between them, and red light arced out into the field.

"Navajo!"

"Solitude."

Emily's Slugma materialised in the center of the battlefield, while Wil's Trapinch appeared closer to him. The two Pokemon squared off against one another for a few moments before Emily impatiently called for an attack.

"Ember, Navajo!"

"Sand Tomb, Sol. Block the flames from reaching you."

Emily snarled as her Slugma's flames were put out by the whirling sand that materialised between the two battlers. "Rock Throw, then!"

"Sand Tomb, again. Hit it, this time."

Rocks crystalised into existence above the Slugma, and with a whip of its head, the Pokemon hurled them at its opponent. To its credit, Trapinch weathered the attack without flinching as it launched its own, and a withering Sand Tomb erupted into being around the Slugma.

This, unfortunately, had the side effect of causing the first Sand Tomb to dissipate. "Ember," Emily called, sensing an opening.

"You didn't seriously think that would work, did you? Faint Attack into Mud-Slap, Solitude." The Trapinch lunged forwards, disappearing before its opponent's Ember could hit it, before reappearing behind its opponent and launching a Mud-Slap attack.

_Slow,_ Wil's mind dissected his opponent's Pokemon. _Moves faster than Solitude, but that means nothing when it's facing Quick Attack, Faint Attack and Sand Tomb. Emily is relying on ranged attacks to make up for her speed deficiency, but her Slugma isn't equipped to deal with Sol._

Blinking mud out of its eyes, the Slugma spat flames at its opponent once more, but the Trapinch evaded the attack easily before kicking more mud at it. Mud-Slap wasn't a particularly strong attack, but the repeated hits, combined with the debilitating effects of Sand Tomb, were clearly taking its toll on the Slugma.

Changing tactics, Emily ordered, "Rock Throw!" The rocks materialised above Slugma's head once again, before it sent them flying towards the Trapinch.

"Quick Attack. Straight ahead." Wil's clipped instructions had no sooner been spoken than put into action. The Trapinch lunged forwards, ducking under the rocks and tackling the Slugma. A Faint Attack put Solitude behind its opponent once more, and the Slugma, clearly on its last legs, began to turn to face it.

"To me, Solitude."

As Wil spoke, the Sand Tomb sapped the last of Slugma's stamina, and it collapsed, still conscious, but clearly defeated.

Seething, Emily recalled her Slugma, and her Larvesta materialised on the field to take its place.

"Soufriere, Ember," she snarled.

"Sand Tomb, Solitude. Hit the Larvesta."

Gritting its teeth, the Trapinch took the Ember attack head-on, and was rewarded with a spot-on hit on its opponent, the debilitating vortex of sand erupting under Larvesta.

_Larvesta moves a lot more quickly than Slugma, but Emily's relying on ranged attacks anyway. On the other hand, that Larvesta is a better choice for dealing with Solitude than a Slugma could ever be._

Wil's eyes swept the battlefield, and he flicked his wrist, recalling the Trapinch. In its place, Spiteful the Zubat took to the skies, avoiding the Ember attack that the Larvesta spat at it. "Toxic," he ordered. "Just as practiced."

Somehow grasping the situation, Spiteful swept downwards, flipping gracefully around another plume of flame, and spat the glob of Toxic poison right into its opponent's face.

"String Shot," Emily called, hoping to slow down the agile Zubat.

"Oh, no, you don't," Wil shouted, panicking. "Dodge that! Don't let it hit you!" His prayers were answered as Spiteful executed a barrel roll, spinning out of the way of the string, before crashing, dazed, to the ground.

_Better than taking that String Shot face-on,_ Wil decided, and called, "Back to the skies, Spiteful, move!"

"Ember," Emily called simultaneously, and the bat took a faceful of flames before it righted its senses and took once more to the skies, unleasing a Supersonic barrage that left the Larvesta reeling in confusion.

"Well done, Spiteful! Just hang in there, now," he instructed, as the Larvesta flopped over painfully in confusion.

"Don't let this prick beat you, Soufriere! Ember! Augh, why do I even bother?"

As the Zubat circled the air over its opponent, the Toxic damage and damage from Sand Tomb added up, and even when the Larvesta gathered its senses to launch an attack, the agile Spiteful simply twirled out of the way. Before long, the Larvesta was unconscious.

"Just you wait, prick," Emily snarled, "Next time, I'll rub you out in the dirt!"

"You're the Fire trainer, here," Wil pointed out. "You should be careful about dirt snuffing you out."

The Fire-type trainer stormed off, angrily muttering under her breath.

As Spiteful alighted on Wil's shoulder, tired but elated, the trainer reached up to stroke it softly. "Well done, little one."

* * *

**Wil is an unrepentant jerk - hence, Emily treats him much differently from the rest of the world (this is utopian Pokemon, like 99% of the world are non-jerks), and Google tells me that "Altro" is Italian for "different". Her last name was originally Smalde, which is an anagram of Damsel, but that didn't really have anything going for it other than the fact that it sounds nice. Emily's Pokemon are named after volcanoes - I looked up a list of volcano names and picked some (six - you'll see her again) that sounded like nice nicknames.  
**

**Next chapter due (dd/mm/yy): 20/01/14  
**


	6. Initiation

**Man, screw chapter 11... in fact, screw battles, I have to go look up "what moves can given Pokemon learn at given level" and try to use that to make things exciting.  
**

**Chapter 6: Initiation**

* * *

"Good evening, Glass residence. How may I help you?"

"You may start by dropping the formalities, Elsa," Wil, lounging on his bed in the Pokemon Centre, chuckled into his Pokegear.

The girl on the other end of the line laughed out loud. "Wil! Good to hear from you! How are you?"

"I'm getting along quite well, actually. Nothing a good meal or two won't fix," Wil grinned, though Elsa wouldn't be able to see it. "I'm checking out of Lavaridge tomorrow morning, actually; I've been here a week already. Thought I'd let you know I wasn't dead."

"You know, for things like that, people usually check in with their parents, rather than their best friends," Elsa deadpanned.

"And how do you know I haven't already called my mother?" Wil retorted.

Silence on the other end of the line – Wil was bluffing. Elsa knew it, and Wil knew that Elsa knew it. "Also," Wil slowly filled in the silence, dragging out the two syllables, "I kind of challenged Flannery... that was... four hours ago, I think."

"You lost, didn't you?" Elsa groaned, and Wil knew that she was rolling her eyes. "Idiot. Let me go look up your battle replay and see how bad she thrashed you." The sound of rapid typing filtered in over the phone.

* * *

Wil pushed open the doors to the gym and slipped into the foyer – strikingly constructed from wooden panels, but rather lacking in furniture. "Why's the Fire Gym made of wood?" he wondered curiously to himself.

"Because wood burns. Not a bad way to showcase the power of fire." Wil's attention was drawn to the right, where a young woman was perched behind a counter that matched the decor.

"By burning down the building?" Wil questioned as he approached the counter, and the receptionist chuckled.

"It's the principle of the thing, and we fireproofed the wood. Went so far as to have Flannery's Charizard Fire Blast the wall. You know, as a quality check. It survived." She pointed to an unmarked spot on the wall, pushing a lock of blue hair out of her eyes with her other hand. "Right there. How many badges do you have, kid?"

"This will be my first," he replied, leaning slightly on the counter, and the receptionist snorted disbelievingly.

"Liar. People coming in for their first badge always throw open the door and demand to see Leader Flannery."

As if to prove her point, the doors slammed open, and a cocky-looking boy strode in. "I'm here for my first Gym Badge!" He announced, then turned to the receptionist, ignoring Wil completely. "You, send for Flannery now. Every second I wait is a second longer to the Pokemon League Championships!"

Wil turned incredulously to the receptionist, who sighed. "Not everyone is like that. Just... most of them."

"You couldn't pay me enough for a job like this," Wil whistled disbelievingly, and the receptionist chuckled.

"It's for the battle experience. I'm a Gym Trainer, here. We take the receptionist job in shifts."

Any further conversation was interrupted by the boy, clad in blue bermudas and a matching button-down shirt. "Excuse me?" He demanded, marching up to the receptionist's counter. "I'm here for a Gym Battle. Please get on with it."

Sighing, the receptionist picked up a phone, dialing three quick numbers. "Hey, Flannery," she said after a short pause. "Two challengers... no, both of them are here for their first badge... what do you mean, by the tone of my voice?" The receptionist chuckled. "No, only one of them is... Look, I know you hate paperwork, you can make Gerald do some of it while you come out. Put that diploma to good use." The woman's eyes strayed to the boy in blue. "I think he's going to pop a vein, you should really come out..."

Wil hid a chuckle. The boy in blue really did have this red-faced look about him.

"Really? OK, I'll let them know that. I'll call back when they're done," the receptionist finished, replacing the phone. Turning to the two challengers, she informed them, "All right, the two of you are going to battle each other, one-on-one. The winner gets to challenge Leader Flannery."

"What do you mean, I have to squish this idiot before I get to fight Flannery?" Prick, as Wil dubbed him mentally, began to protest.

"Cool your jets, kiddo," the receptionist replied. "You'll fight him in a one-on-one battle, and the winner gets to fight Flannery, two-on-two. You'd normally have to fight one of the Gym Trainers, anyway." She dialed three quick numbers into her phone once more. "Hey, Jeff, challengers. Get over here and man the counter. I need to ref... no, I don't care. Either you come, or you get someone else to fill in. You should have known better than to start a game when you're on second."

"Fine," Prick snarled. "Get over here." He turned and stalked over towards the next room.

"Is Prick really so dense as to not know how Gyms work?" Wil turned a questioning gaze on the receptionist, who chuckled at his irreverent dubbing of the boy as she replaced the phone.

"We get guys like him sometimes. Think they own the world. I'm Danielle, by the way. I'll need to know your name to referee."

"Wil... just Wil. I'm from Fallabor. Hey, Prick," he called to the other trainer, "what's your name, and where're you from?"

"What the _hell_ did you just call me?" Prick snarled, one hand on the door handle.

"Well, maybe if you'd introduced yourself, I wouldn't have to call you Prick, would I?" Wil shot back, clearly enjoying riling up his opponent.

"The name's Patrick Noat. Remember it," Prick threatened, and Wil promptly forgot the name, deciding to refer to him by his dubbed 'Prick'.

"I'll need to know where you're from, to announce the match," Danielle informed him.

"Mauville," Prick replied. "Let's get on with it! I want to extinguish this retard... hey, this is a supply closet! Where's the battlefield?"

"That door over there," Danielle pointed to a door marked in red as she stood from her chair. Behind her, an irritated-looking gym trainer emerged from a door marked "NO ENTRY" behind the counter. "About time you got here, Jeff. Counter's all yours."

* * *

The Lavaridge Gym battlefield was, perhaps, the only part of the gym not constructed from wood. The grounds of the field were a dusty brown, and slightly-raised stone slabs marked out where the trainers were to stand. Danielle unhooked a remote from the wall, and before Wil could ask about it, the outline of the field was illuminated in white light. She crossed over to the far side of the battlefield as the two trainers took their positions at either end.

"This is a one-on-one battle between Wil of Fallabor Town and Pr- Patrick of Mauville City," Danielle announced. "Begin!"

Wil shuffled his three Pokeballs in his hand before selecting one and flicking out his wrist. "Echo, let's go!"

"Arqua! Squash this guy! Vicegrip!"

Arqua turned out to be a Corphish, which explained handily why the Mauville native had opted to head north to Lavaridge, rather than challenge the Electric specialist Wattson, for his first gym badge. Unfortunately for Prick, Corphish weren't particularly fast Pokemon, and Echo the Swablu fluttered far out of its reach.

"Sing, Echo."

As the bird-like Swablu began to croon a soothing melody, its opponent unleashed a stream of bubbles at it, but to no avail, as Swablu simply glided out of the way, keeping up the song. Before long, the Corphish was asleep.

A debilitating series of Pecks later, the Corphish was unconscious. Prick, snarling, recalled his Pokemon and stormed across the battlefield. "You," he snarled. "You'll pay for that!"

"You're the one who'll be paying," Wil pointed out gleefully as he stretched out a hand, palm up. "Pay up."

With a wordless snarl, Prick shoved a small wad of bills into his hand, turned and stalked out the gym.

"Huh. Stingy," Wil complained to himself as he quickly counted his prize.

* * *

"So the prick lost, huh?" Flannery, leaning back in her chair, chuckled into her phone as she signed a document.

_"Right. His opponent – guy named Wil – used a Swablu. Put the Corphish to sleep, then battered it into unconsciousness."_

"Interesting," Flannery noted, scooping a Heat Badge, TM case and Overheat TM from her desk drawer. "Couldn't he have come next week?"

* * *

"Next week is when that amendment comes into effect, right? Well, one more couldn't hurt, I guess. Besides, this guy might actually deserve it... Right, see you soon. Bye." Back in the foyer, Danielle, leaning on the counter, replaced the phone.

"So, can I go now?" Jeff asked, idly perusing the computer.

"Nope," Danielle replied gleefully. "I still gotta ref this kid's match with Flannery. Pass me your Trainer Card," she called to Wil as she stepped behind the counter. "I need to scan in your challenge. _Move,_ Jeff. I don't care about you chatting with your girlfriend online."

"I'm not – wait, what? I don't even _have_ a girlfriend!"

"You really need to get some chairs out here," Wil informed Danielle as he handed over the slim leather wallet that was his Trainer Card."

"Don't get your hopes up," the Gym Trainer replied as her fingers flew over the keyboard. "Either of you."

Not a minute passed before Flannery emerged from a nondescript door. "So, this is the guy?" She questioned.

"Yep," Danielle nodded, tossing the wallet back at Wil, who snatched it out of the air, complaining about _giving a guy some warning before you do that_. "Come on, let's get back to the battlefield."

* * *

"This is a two-on-two battle between Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town and Leader Flannery of Lavaridge Gym! Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions."

"You know," Wil began, almost cordially, "I never understood the point behind that rule."

His opponent chuckled. "It's a standard rule."

"But still-"

"Begin!"

"Spiteful, flight!"

"Chisquero, let's go!"

Wil's Zubat took to the skies, facing off against Flannery's Numel.

"Toxic."

"Flame Burst!"

Flipping acrobatically through the air, the Zubat avoided the worst of the scorching fire and launched a glob of Toxic poison that the slow Numel was unable to dodge, then followed up by diving into its opponent's face and launching a point-blank Supersonic attack that left the Numel reeling in confusion before it could retaliate.

"Just as practiced," Wil smirked, as Spiteful began to circle higher, out of reach of the Numel. The additional week Wil had spent in Lavaridge hadn't been put to waste.

_This Numel is just like Emily's Slugma. It's too slow to deal with Spiteful – all I need to do is let Toxic damage wear it down. _"It can't hit you if you keep away and keep alert, Spiteful," he called to his Zubat.

"Hey, Danielle! I thought you said the other one was the prick!" Flannery called to the Gym Trainer.

"Yeah," Danielle replied sheepishly. "If you think this guy is bad, you shoulda seen the other guy."

"Generally, whoever says that is sporting a black eye," Wil pointed out. "Pull out further, Spiteful."

Numel chose that moment to snap out of its confusion, spitting Embers at the Zubat, but the attack had next to no chance of hitting over the long distance. Spiteful wheeled in the air, swooping down and screeching out another Supersonic attack before swerving back out to a distance.

It was only a matter of time before the Numel collapsed, unable to continue battling, and Flannery recalled him with a sigh.

Vesta the Vulpix materialised on the battlefield in its place, and it started the battle with a flashing Flame Burst. Spiteful, flitting out of the way, dived down into a Toxic attack. Vulpix was no slow Numel, though and a light spring put it out of the way of the debilitating poison, which disintegrated in the dust of the battlefield. In response, the fiery fox launched a withering Fire Spin attack.

"Toxic, again," Wil called, panicking, and this time, the attack landed its mark, though not without cost, as Spiteful found itself trapped in the flaming vortex. A second Flame Burst put the bat out of commission for the battle, and Wil recalled it with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Spiteful's Pokeball, and red light heralded the appearance of a wary Solitude, the Trapinch facing down its opponent. _The Vulpix is fast, and it sports really strong attacks. That means it's probably quite frail. If I can get in just a bit of damage..._

A heartbeat passed before Flannery called her attack. "Flame Burst, Vesta!"

"Faint Attack, Sol," Wil snapped out, and the Trapinch, disappearing, avoided the flames completely before tackling its opponent from behind. As Vulpix staggered, the Trapinch launched a Sand Tomb attack on Wil's command, then backed away. It was now only a matter of time before the Vulpix succumbed to the effects of Spiteful's Toxic and Solitude's Sand Tomb.

Of course, there was still the fact that the Pokemon wielded terrifyingly strong fire attacks, and Wil knew that it would only take a few hits to knock out his Trapinch.

Evidently, Flannery had come to the same conclusion, because she ordered a Fire Spin attack that would trap Solitude in place for a debilitating Flame Burst. The Trapinch reacted too slowly to Wil's call of "Quick Attack", and found itself trapped in the flaming vortex.

"Overheat!"

Or an even more debilitating Overheat attack.

_No, no, no,_ Wil panicked, calling upon the one attack that could hit the Vulpix from a distance. "Mud Slap, Sol! Make it count!"

In the end, it didn't matter, as Vulpix, upon unleashing the terrifying Overheat, collapsed, unable to continue battling. As the fiery storm cleared, it became evident that Trapinch had been knocked unconscious by the single hit, but taking into account the travel time of the attack...

"Victory goes to Challenger Wil, of Fallabor Town!"

* * *

"Sorry I called you a prick," Flannery apologised sheepishly as she approached Wil in the centre of the battlefield.

"I've been called worse," he dismissed. "Besides, I kind of am, you just haven't seen it."

Withdrawing his Trainer Card, Wil handed it to Flannery, who pinned the Heat Badge to the leather wallet. "Congratulations," she grinned, handing him back his Trainer Card, along with a red disc. "You've taken the first step towards the Pokemon League."

* * *

_"You were bluffing!"_ Elsa shrieked into the phone.

"I did no such thing!" Wil choked out amidst his laughter. "All I told you was that I challenged Flannery – you were the one who said I lost!"

"Well, to be fair, I was almost right!" Elsa retorted, though she was clearly laughing as well. "If Flannery had led with that Vulpix of hers she'd have _smoked_ you hard."

"You never know," Wil replied, still snickering. "if she had led with Vulpix, Overheat would have been a really risky move to pop at that point – she might have used Flame Burst instead. I might still have won."

"Fine," Elsa conceded. "Did you call just to gloat, or what?"

"You wound me, Elsa! Can't a guy check up on his best friend? Speaking of which, how's that project of yours coming along? Something about diversity of movepool and its relation to competitive viability?"

"You know exactly what the project is about – you were the one who came up with the topic," Elsa reminded him. "Stupid Marcus Llednar is screwing it up. All he'll talk about is 'Nidoking's supreme, unmatched, incredible, awe-inspiring coverage'," she put on a deeper, droning voice that sounded nothing like the person she was trying to imitate. "Nothing about its useless speed."

"You got Marcus Llednar as your project partner? I pity you," Wil snickered, not sounding particularly sympathetic, and the two friends continued chatting long after the sun set.

* * *

**So I went to Wikipedia and looked up "Match". The thing you use to light fires, you know. Picked two words from the page that sounded like they'd make good nicknames, and just used them. Besides, Vesta is a great name.  
**

**Next chapter due (dd/mm/yy): 22/01/14. This one is short, so the next one can come up fast.**

**I think I should clear this up - my timezone is GMT+8, and I like to be punctual - so when it says 22nd here, that's morning of the 22nd where I live (think 7am - I rise early), which is probably around evening of the 21st for all you people in Europe and the Americas. That, of course, discounts the fact that these things are usually up a few days before the given date. This would be in case of FFnet complications. It's happened before.  
**


	7. Trainer

**Bah. I hate this chapter, too. I hate it less than I did two days ago, though, which is always a plus. In this chapter, Wil is a jerk. Also in this chapter, rocks are thrown at Pokemon. I would like to stress that this isn't particularly damaging for the Pokemon. Certainly less so than a Flamethrower or Thunderbolt.**

**In other news, Chapter 11 is progressing nicely. Which means that my buffer, despite all efforts (not really), is running a little low. For the record, I've been working on Chapter 11 since, like, the 12th of January... and about 70% of what's written was written in one day (read: yesterday).  
**

**Chapter 7: Trainer**

* * *

The Route 111-112 stretch linking Lavaridge and Mauville was a straightforward, four-day-long stretch which was simple in a markedly different way from Fiery Path. While Fiery Path was easy enough to navigate, it did pose a certain level of threat to anyone who wandered down the sole side-path.

On the other hand, the Mauville-Lavaridge stretch was well-kept, with civilisation in the form of the famous Winstrate's house and Trainer Hill. To make it easier, the route was bounded by steep mountain on both sides, with only sparse forest – and an abundance of berry bushes – between the path and the surrounding cliffs. Even the wild Pokemon on the route were accustomed to humans in the area, and it wasn't unheard of for a wild Pokemon to calmly approach a human to beg for food.

Because of the tame nature of the area, it wasn't uncommon to see even children without Trainer Cards fighting one another in the green paths with their pet Pokemon, under the supervision of their parents. The stretch was a popular stomping ground for trainers to train in and battle one another.

Emphasis on the "battle".

* * *

"Again?" Wil groaned to himself as a trainer, dressed in green and yellow, turned on him, demanding a battle. "Kid, are you serious?"

The trainer in question turned red, spluttering, "I am not a kid! I have no badges, so you can't refuse to battle, too!"

Which was true on both counts, Wil reflected; the trainer was probably older than he was, though he certainly didn't act it. And with the Heat Badge nestled snugly in his Trainer Card, he couldn't turn down challenges from trainers with no badges.

It would be _so _simple to lie and tell him that he, too, didn't have any badges.

"What, lost too many battles against your peers?" Wil questioned, and was rewarded with the red-faced trainer reddening even more. "You do realise that if you can't beat your friends who have no badges, you probably don't stand a chance against someone who's beaten a Gym Leader, right? Or perhaps you needed help figuring that out – in which case, I'm glad to have been of assistance." He spread his arms in a sardonic gesture.

Tomato Sauce, as Wil quickly dubbed the boy, was, much like his namesake, both red in the face and spluttering. _Even his green and yellow clothes fit that name,_ Wil thought, mentally congratulating himself.

Finally composing himself, Tomato Sauce asked, "Did you just insult me?"

"I did," Wil retorted sharply. "Accurately, it seems."

_Maybe Chilli Sauce might have been better,_ Wil considered. _He's red, spluttering and now angry, to boot._

The newly dubbed Chilli Sauce tossed a Pokeball forwards, releasing a Sandshrew in a burst of light. "This guy insulted me!" He huffed angrily. "Avenge my honour, Sandy!"

_...did he seriously just say that!?_

"One on one, no time limit. Solitude!" Wil flicked his wrist forwards, and the Trapinch materialised on the short grass that made up the route, facing down the opposing trainer's Sandshrew.

"Swift, Sandy!" On his command, the Sandshrew released a barrage of glimmering stars that homed in on its opponent.

The Trapinch stood its ground, barely fazed by the weak attack, and launched a Sand Tomb attack that trapped its opponent. Though the Sandshrew was a native of the desert, and resilient against sandstorms, a Sand Tomb attack was a completely different ball game, and the rodent-like Pokemon braced itself against the onslaught.

Its troubles were about to get worse, though. "Faint Attack into Bite," Wil ordered, and as its opponent floundered, panicking, Solitude lunged forward, slamming into its opponent before clamping down on it. Two more Bite attacks, and the Sandshrew fainted. Wil strolled away shortly after, prize money in his pocket and an even redder, even angrier Chilli Sauce spluttering behind him.

"Hey! You there!"

Wil groaned aloud.

* * *

"I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

Wil froze, spoon halfway to his mouth. He slowly looked around, seeing no one but himself... and another kid, who was opening his mouth, hopefully not to...

"Yeah, you! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!" The kid was obviously even newer a trainer than he was, his clothes lacking even the dust of a day's travel.

To be fair, Wil's clothes were also freshly washed from being in Lavaridge, just half a day's travel away, but everything about his challenger, from the backwards cap on his head and gleaming clean yellow shirt, down to the short shorts, just screamed 'absolute newbie'.

Absolute Newbie then proceeded to shout, "Zigzag! I choose you!" This was accompanied by a dramatic throw of a Pokeball, and a small Zigzagoon materialised on the ground between the two trainers.

Wil's eye twitched. His world, it seemed, was filled with idiots. Turning away, the dark-clothed Wil continued eating his noodles, ignoring the outraged shouts of Absolute Newbie and his Absolute Newbie Zigzagoon.

* * *

After lunch was when Wil normally trained his Pokemon, either practicing their attacks, training their stamina, speed or power, or pitting them in mock battles against one another. This time, though, he decided that the boy standing opposite him would serve as training enough. Hence, while Spiteful and Solitude began to eat their lunch, Wil and Echo faced off against Absolute "My name's Gary!" Newbie and his Zigzagoon.

The Zigzagoon's trainer opened with the order, "Belly Drum, Zigzag!"

_What the actual flying-_

"Then use Extremespeed!"

"Fly up, Echo!" Wil snapped, suddenly treating the Absolute Newbie Zigzagoon like a real opponent – and with good reason. "Then Sing!"

The Zigzagoon, though incredibly fast when using Extremespeed, was unable to jump high enough to attack the Swablu, who began to croon a lullaby. Both trainers tensed, before the Absolute Terror Zigzagoon collapsed, asleep.

"Fury Attack," Wil instructed, and the Swablu complied, swooping down to attack its sleeping opponent.

"Sleep Talk, Zigzag! Go, go, go!" Absolute Terror grinned a maniacal grin. It was the sort of grin Wil associated with a predator before it pounced on its prey, or with a supervillain before he pressed the red button.

It was actually a regular grin, not uncommon on any trainer, but Wil was hardly unbiased.

The Zigzagoon, still sound asleep, leapt into the air, crashing into the Swablu and bringing it down in one hit. As if to add insult to injury, the Pokemon proceeded to land on its feet before collapsing onto its side and letting out a loud snore.

"Yeah! Last Resort! Awesome!"

Wil groaned in Absolute Despair, burying his head into his hands.

* * *

"Toxic into Supersonic, then circle."

"Peck, Echo."

"Faint Attack, Sol."

"Do these battles ever end!?" Wil snarled in frustration as his Zubat circled its latest opponent, a Marill.

The other trainer turned a curious gaze on him before ordering a "Water Gun on the small Zubat, Rillian!" Not that the attack had any chance of hitting. One Toxic, two Supersonics, and a variety of acrobatic aerial stunts later, the Marill had fainted.

* * *

The trainer stumbled into the Cable Car building two hours after lunch, dearly wishing that he had the ability to decline battles like he had done on the trip to Lavaridge. Unfortunately, a large population of the trainers milling around the tame area had yet to defeat a Gym Leader. It was another one of the League's odd rules: A licensed trainer – anyone with a Trainer Card – was forbidden from declining challenges from other licensed trainers, so long as the challenger had less badges than the challenged.

Still, he reflected, irritation aside, the day so far had been fairly successful. Of the ten-odd trainers he had faced that morning, Wil had walked away with a solid eight victories. Most of his challengers were newer to battles than he was, and their strategy often consisted of full-frontal physical attacks that Spiteful and Echo, with their ability to take to the air, had no problem thwarting. Fighting with Solitude, in contrast, proved to be a totally different game. The Trapinch was slow, but it made up for it with versatile attacks like Sand Tomb and Faint Attack. With Solitude, the battle became less of a complete thrashing and more of a tactical approach.

Wil knew that he would soon be pitted against smarter trainers who would have no trouble knocking Echo or Spiteful out of the air with lightning-fast ranged attacks. For now, though, he would stick with what worked.

* * *

That time evidently came sooner than he had expected, as Echo the Swablu found itself pitted against a Pikachu.

"Thundershock, Bika!"

"Sing, Echo."

Twirling gracefully out of the way of the arc of electricity, the Swablu began to Sing a melodious tune, but the song ended in an undignified squawk as the Pikachu's second Thundershock hit its mark.

Wil cursed under his breath. "Fury Attack," he instructed.

"Quick Attack," came the responding call, and the Pikachu lunged at its opponent, knocking it out of the air, though it suffered a fair number of pecks to the head for its effort.

"Astonish."

"Thundershock!"

Wil was honestly surprised that his Swablu was still conscious. It had taken quite the beating from the Absolute Terror Zigzagoon, and now two super-effective Thundershocks to the face, and was still going strong.

Or not, seeing as the Swablu was tottering unsteadily on its feet.

"Once more! Thundershock!"

Echo, regaining its balance, launched the Astonish attack, and the Pikachu flinched, interrupting the static build-up that would lead to a Thundershock attack.

The same static build-up arced from the rodent's cheek to the Swablu, paralyzing it. Pikachu swiftly returned to its senses and sent another arcing Thundershock at the Swablu, knocking it out.

Sighing, Wil forked over his opponent's prize, and recalled Echo.

* * *

"Time for something new, Echo" Wil grinned at the Swablu perched on a tree branch, just off the road. "Something I did with Spiteful in Lavaridge. YOu'll remember, won't you?" He grinned a wicked grin. "Today is about reflexes! If you get hit, you're out!" He knelt down, scooping a handful of pebbles from the ground. "Dodge this," the trainer crowed, slinging the first of the rocks at Echo, who squawked, taking flight immediately. The second and third missiles missed by a fairly large margin, but the fourth struck true, pinging solidly off the Swablu's wing. It didn't cause any real damage, but a hit was a hit.

"Gotcha," Wil grinned, as the Pokemon alighted on a branch and put on a sad face. "Again, Echo!" And the pebbles continued arcing towards the Swablu, who soon became quite confident at dodging the thrown missiles.

It thus came as quite a surprise to the Swablu when a Pokeball, rather than a rock, was thrown at it. Spiteful burst from the Pokeball and, flipping around in an impressive display of acrobatics, swept towards the Swablu with wings spread wide, barely missing as Echo swerved to avoid crashing into the Zubat.

"Well done," Wil praised Echo, as Spiteful alighted on his outstretched arm. With a quick, practiced sweep of his arm, the trainer tossed his Zubat into the air, giving it a speed boost as it took off. "Wing Attack, Spiteful! Echo, dodge!"

The Zubat swept through the air with practiced ease, moving a lot faster than Wil could ever throw rocks, and Echo, flustered, began the second stage of its training.

* * *

_Swablu_

_Normal/Flying type_

_Known moves: Growl, Peck, Astonish, Sing, Fury Attack, Safeguard, Mist, Round_

"Round, huh?" Wil muttered to himself, the upbeat Swablu once again perched on his head, singing a cheerful tune as they walked. "That's bound to come in useful."

"Hey, you! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

Wil groaned, snapping his Pokedex shut and turning to the black-clad trainer with a Poochyena by his side.

* * *

_Zubat_

_Poison/Flying_

_Known moves: Leech Life, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack, Toxic_

Wil relaxed in the sofa, snapping his Pokedex shut. While a larger Zubat would be able to wield moves like Bite and Wing Attack with terrifying – or at least, marginally threatening – ability, the miniature Spiteful wouldn't be able to do more than annoy an opponent with such attacks.

_"Try your Wing Attack, Spiteful."_

_Chittering loudly, the Zubat swept downwards in a graceful arc, wings glowing in a Wing Attack. Colliding with Solitude's thick head, the Zubat bounced off, dazed, while the Trapinch didn't even appear fazed at all._

_"...Never mind."_

The sound of chittering brought Wil's attention out of his musing. Chuckling, the trainer scooped the Zubat from his shoulder and left the lounge of Trainer Hill, making his way to his room.

"Solitude, Echo, come on out," he called, waving his hand through the air, and the two Pokemon materialised. "Stick around, amuse yourself, and don't break anything. I'm going to go get your food."

* * *

"This time, we're working on accuracy!"

Wil stood in the centre of the dusty brown practice field outside Trainer Hill, a handful of pebbles in one hand and a Zubat perched on the other outstretched one. From the sidelines, Echo and Solitude watched with interest.

"The easiest way to guarantee a Toxic," he began to explain, "is to spit it out point-blank, and that's what we've been doing so far. Now... we're going to work on range." A sweep of his arm, and Spiteful took to the air.

"Toxic, Spiteful! Go for the rocks!"

With that, Wil began to toss the pebbles he held into the air, one by one.

"Keep moving, Spiteful! Don't just hover or you'll get hit!" As if to illustrate his point, a rock flew from his hand towards the Zubat, who dodged it with a panicked squeak, tagging it with Toxic poison before it hit the ground. "Not bad, not bad! Keep it up!" Two more pebbles flew into the air, one after the other.

* * *

"Avio, Wing Attack!"

Wil, himself, trained two Flying-types. The majority of the opponents he had fought so far were new trainers, and though there had been a number of Pokemon capable of ranged attacks (the Pikachu sprang to mind), never before had he faced down a Pokemon capable of dueling with his own Pokemon in the air.

"Pull out, Spiteful!"

Performing a series of acrobatic flips, Spiteful avoided the Taillow's Wing Attack, flying out to a larger distance, while the Taillow swerved around, speeding back towards the Zubat. _Taillow is fast, but not quite as fast as Spiteful. If she can poison it, she should be able to outmanoevre it long enough for the poison to knock it out._

"Ascend and use Toxic."

"Quick Attack!"

Wil didn't think it possible, but the speeding bird accelerated, slamming forcefully into Spiteful and throwing it back a short distance. To its credit, the bat recovered quickly and unleashed the withering Toxic poison on its opponent.

At Wil's command, Spiteful began to follow up with a series of Supersonic blasts, but the agile Taillow, in a display of aerial manoeuvrability, avoided the repeated attacks, before closing the distance with a Peck attack that struck home with debilitating power. Defeated, the Zubat flopped out of the air.

Sighing, Wil forked over the prize to his opponent, then dug an Oran Berry out of his berry pouch and fed it to the miniature Zubat.

"You're all talk," the trainer taunted, as he turned and left.

"Taillow, Taillow, Taillow... hmm..." Wil muttered to himself as he tugged his Pokedex out of his bag. "What the actual flying- this thing has Guts?"

_Taillow_

_Normal/Flying_

_Possible abilities: Guts, Scrappy_

"Well, damn," he sighed to himself.

* * *

"Hey, you there! You coming in from Lavaridge?"

Wil opened his mouth, an insult on the tip of his tongue, then (for once) thought better of it. "Aye, I am," he called back.

The trainer's eye twitched. "Who uses words like 'aye'? Ain't a simple 'yes' good enough for you?"

Abandoning all pretense of politeness, Wil retorted, "Who uses words like 'ain't'? Too good for proper English, or just too stupid?"

"I think you're going to regret saying that," the red-clad trainer snarled, tugging a Pokeball from his belt. "How many badges?"

"Just the one," Wil replied, and his opponent's mouth split into a predatorial grin.

"Same," he smirked. "Consider this a challenge – three-on-three, no time limit. Or are you too sissy to battle?"

Wil quickly sized up his opponent, then shot back, "I think you're the one who's sissy. Looks to me like you're only challenging people who come in from five-day treks. Are you afraid you'll get beaten if your opponents are at full strength?"

"Is that a yes?" Sissy bit back, lips curled into a snarl.

"Only if _that's_ a yes," Wil smirked.

"I think you just gave me a license to beat you down," Sissy snarled, tossing his Pokeball forwards. An Electrike burst from the Pokeball, apparently all too aware of the insults Wil had leveled at its trainer, as it immediately began snarling at him.

"I think _you_ just burned yourself," Wil laughed aloud, flicking his wrist, and Solitude materialised in a flash of red light. "Hope you brought Burn Heal."

"Howl, Storm," Sissy ordered, and Wil mentally revised his opinion of the trainer to 'Stupid, but a possible threat in battle'.

"Sand Tomb," Wil called, and as the Electrike let loose a chilling Howl, raising its attack, the ground beneath it erupted into swirling sand.

"Quick Attack!"

"You, too, Sol."

The Trapinch moved quickly, but the Electrike was still faster, lunging at its opponent in a withering tackle, though Trapinch was quick to react with a Quick Attack of its own.

As the Trapinch flung its opponent away, Sissy ordered, "Tackle!"

"Faint Attack."

As the Electrike lunged at its opponent, the Trapinch disappeared, and Electrike, confused, skidded to a stop. This was exactly the sort of opening that Solitude could capitalise on, and its Faint Attack landed cleanly. On Wil's command, the Trapinch followed it up with a Mud Slap, successfully getting some mud into the Electrike's eyes.

"Shake it off, and use Tackle!"

"Quick Attack to the left, then Mud Slap."

"Headbutt!"

Evidently, the opposing trainer knew that if they kept trading blows, the Electrike's boosted attack would pay off, allowing it to defeat the Trapinch, even at a type disadvantage. Wil, on the other hand, was playing a different game – his tactics reflected a strategy that relied on evasion. The battle was quickly turning into a match of speed against power, with Solitude employing its moves to reposition itself, while its opponent relied on the brute force of boosted attacks.

Wil scowled as Solitude weathered a tough Headbutt and called for a retaliatory Bite, the Trapinch following up with a Quick Attack that knocked out its opponent. Evidently irritated, Sissy recalled his fainted Pokemon, and a Wailmer took its place.

"Return, Sol," Wil called, recalling his Trapinch, and with a flick of his wrist, Echo the Swablu took the battlefield against the Wailmer.

"Rollout, Tide!" Sissy ordered.

"Take to the sky and use Sing."

Both trainer and Pokemon underestimated the bulky whale-like Pokemon's ability to jump, though; the Wailmer bounced high into the air, scoring a critical hit on the Swablu, which fluttered woozily, but recovered quickly.

"Don't let that hit you again, Echo," Wil warned. He knew the dangers of a move like Rollout, which powered up with consecutive hits. With a squawk, the cloud-winged bird narrowly avoided the whale's second pass and, on Wil's call of "Round," unleashed a torrent of sound on the retreating form of the Wailmer.

As he battled the Wailmer, Wil noted that Echo's reflexes weren't quite as fast as Spiteful's or even Solitude's, and resolved to work on that. "Round again, Echo," he called. "It's got to go down sometime."

That 'sometime' turned out to be fairly quick, and Wailmer soon crashed, defeated, to the ground. The Swablu, having suffered from no more than three Rollout attacks, was still raring to go.

As Sissy's last Pokemon materialised on the field, Wil made the split-second decision to recall Echo. "Spiteful, flight," he called, and the tiny Zubat materialised on the field, immediately taking to the air and circling its opponent.

Against the Zubat, there was literally nothing Sissy's Makuhita could do. Wil made a point of instructing Spiteful to strafe from afar, and the Makuhita found itself simply unable to even attack. Before long, the Fighting-type Pokemon succumbed to Toxic damage.

_I'm getting better at this,_ Wil grinned to himself as he pocketed a wad of bills.

* * *

**Next chapter due(dd/mm/yy): 27/01/14**


	8. Potential

**Screw Chapter 11 (it's a series of four battles at once and I am trying so hard to make it interesting but I'm stuck in the middle of the third one). But I like this chapter, somewhat. All in all, a good time. Mostly.  
**

**Chapter 8: Potential**

* * *

"Well, this is an... interesting... place."

Indeed, the Mauville Gym was an exercise in contrast. While the surrounding buildings were constructed from standard grey concrete and equally standard grey brick, Wattson's Electric Gym lived up to its type specialisation. The gym was built from a strange, glossy yellow brick, and the entrance, rather than the standard rectangles of double doors, instead boasted a circular appearance, a diagonal slash running across the circle and giving it an appearance awfully close to that of a Pokeball, gleaming gold in the sunlight.

"Is that actual gold?" Wil wondered aloud, stepping closer and reaching towards the door. At his touch, the metal doors slid open, revealing the interior of a gym that was as electrifyingly surprising as the exterior. His eyes followed the corridor, down the yellow brick path, towards the counter, where a young man sat, strumming on an electric guitar, headphones snug around his ears.

"Follow the yellow brick road," Wil muttered, approaching the counter. Sensing, rather than hearing, his approach, the receptionist looked up, setting aside his guitar and tugging the headphones down to rest around his neck

"Yo, my man! Wazzup?"

Wil's eyebrows twitched. "Does everyone in the gym speak like that?" He questioned, inwardly shuddering.

"Naw, just, like... three of us, man. You here for the Dynamo Badge?"

"Well... yes." Wil slid his trainer card across the counter, flipping it open, and the Heat Badge glimmered red in the flashing light of the gym.

"Cool. All right, man!" The Yellow Brick Road Toll Operator glanced quickly at the computer screen before him, then dialed three quick numbers on his phone. "Yo, Shawn," he greeted the man on the other line. "Got a trainer here, one badge... naw, chill, mate! It's Angelo's turn. He there? Awright! Send him out. Naw, no need, I'll ref," the man assured his companion over the phone, casually dumping a stand on the table _–_ "COUNTER CLOSED. PLEASE PROCEED INSIDE FOR ASSISTANCE."

"Yeah... Ciao!" The receptionist finished, glancing at him and grinning, "Just you wait, man. You just need to beat Angelo, then you can challenge Wattson." His fingers flashed across the the telephone's button once more. "...Yo, boss-man! Got a trainer out here, one badge. Naw, not yet, Angelo's still on his way out. Just thought I'd let you know, yeah? This guy looks pretty good, I don't think Angelo stands a chance, really."

"I heard that," a man muttered obstinately as he emerged from a chrome-coloured door behind the counter. "Not cool, Kirk."

Yellow Brick Kirk ignored him, continuing, "Yeah. I know you like to watch that... wassit called? The... yeah, that's the one. Right, right, _paperwork,_" the receptionist rolled his eyes. "I can hear your TV going on in the background, ya know..."

"Come on, kid," Angelo muttered, waving a hand at the battlefield, which, unsurprisingly, gleamed in the light. "Let's get this show on the road. Kirk, you idiot," he hollered at the man, "Get over here and ref for us."

* * *

"This is a two-on-two battle between Angelo Dern of Mauville Gym and Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town," Kirk announced. "Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. Begin!"

"Quan, forwards."

"Spiteful, flight! Confuse Ray, as practiced!"

* * *

_"Anything you can tell me about the Gym?" Wil questioned as he handed his three Pokeballs to the nurse at the Pokemon Centre._

_Chuckling, the nurse replied, "It's not really a secret. Anyone will tell you that Wattson and his Gym Trainers are big fans of the Shock Wave attack. He even gives out the TM for that move! It's not particularly strong, as far as attacks go, but Shock Wave tracks its target – it's an attack that's guaranteed to hit."_

_"I see you have a Zubat," the nurse continued. "A Pokemon like Zubat that relies on evasive tactics wouldn't be the best choice to fight Wattson with."_

_"Thanks for the advice."_

* * *

Quan turned out to be, quite strangely, a Volbeat, the red-coloured Bug Pokemon buzzing animatedly around the battlefield, while Wil's Zubat took to the air, immediately summoning an orb of glowing light that danced around the Volbeat's head and confused it.

"Shock Wave, Quan!"

_Didn't waste any time breaking out the big guns,_ Wil thought to himself, calling out, "Toxic, Spiteful."

The purple glob of poison hit the Volbeat as it crashed, dazed, into the ground, and Spiteful followed it up with a super-effective Wing Attack, though the move didn't deal a great amount of damage.

"Come on, Quan, snap out of it," the Gym Trainer pleaded as the Volbeat crashed once more into the ground, and Wil's Zubat capitalised on the opening to once again target it with a Wing Attack. Wil would admit freely that the Wing Attacks weren't particularly damaging, but damage tended to add up.

"Confuse Ray, Spiteful. Keep it going – don't let the Volbeat up."

"Why, you little rascal," his opponent snarled, evidently quite irritated, as Volbeat snapped up, alertness flashing in its eyes, only to succumb once more to confusion. Unfortunately for the challenger, the Volbeat, confused, still managed to unleash a Shock Wave attack that left Spiteful reeling, though it succumbed to poison damage soon after.

The Gym Trainer's next Pokemon turned out to be an Illumise that started off with a Shock Wave, frying Spiteful out of the air, and Wil recalled it with a sigh. "Echo, let's go," he called, and the Swablu materialised on the battlefield, leading off with a super-effective Peck. "Stay close and keep up the pressure," he instructed. "Don't let the Illumise recover."

"Not many trainers are gutsy enough to challenge an Electric Gym with Flying-types," Yellow Brick Kirkchuckled as the avian Echo kept up the battle's momentum, using its superior speed and aerial mobility to pressure the Illumise at close range.

"Back off, Quist! Back off and use Shock Wave! Don't let it do that to you!"

"Don't let it back off, Echo; keep at it. Fury Attack."

* * *

Really, Wil reflected as the nurse at the Pokemon Centre took Spiteful's Pokeball, for a trainer challenging the gym with two Flying-types, that battle had been way too easy.

_"Wahahaha! A Flying-type trainer, you say?" Wattson's signature booming laugh echoed through the phone line._

_"Yeah, boss-man!" Yellow Brick Kirk chuckled. "The guy wants to challenge you later. He said, uh... right, yeah! He says he's only got three Pokemon, see, so he needs all three of 'em healthy to challenge you!"_

_"Looking forwards to it. Wahahaha!"_

_Yellow Brick Kirk hung up the phone, grinning from ear to ear. "You can come back after lunch, kiddo."_

As Wil sat down to a lunch of scrambled eggs and meat, he began to analyse his opponent's possible Pokemon. Most gym leaders – in fact, most mid- to high-level trainers – had at least a few Pokemon from other regions, but as he was only challenging Wattson for his second badge, Wil was fairly certain that the man would stick to local Pokemon.

That gave him a possible roster of Magnemite, Electrike, Voltorb and Pikachu, plus their evolved forms, though Wil considered it unlikely that the Gym Leader would field evolved Pokemon.

* * *

"This is a three-on-three battle between Leader Wattson of Mauville Gym and Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town! Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. Begin!"

"Jedlik, electrify this Bird Keeper!"

"Spiteful, flight; keep low! Confuse Ray!"

"Wahahaha! Shock Wave!"

To Wil's dismay, Jedlik turned out to be a Voltorb, an unapologetically fast Pokemon, and one that could easily outstrip Spiteful. "Belay that," he snapped, two Pokeballs in his hands. "Switch out; Solitude, go!" _Voltorb is fast and frail, but unlike that Doduo, it's heavily reliant on its ranged attacks. I need to close the distance ad hit it hard._

Voltorb was fast, but the Pokeball's red light was faster, and the Ground-typed Solitude shimmered into being, absorbing the Electric attack without taking damage.

"Wahahaha! A Ground-type?" Wattson laughed out loud. "And against my Jedlik, too! Sonicboom, Jedlik!"

"Faint Attack, Solitude."

Wattson's Voltorb launched the reverberating attack at the Trapinch, which promptly disappeared, tackling the Voltorb from behind. On Wil's command, the bug-like Pokemon followed up with a Sand Tomb, trapping the Voltorb in a swirling mass of sand.

Red light flashed across the battlefield, and Echo the Swablu materialised as Wil recalled his starter Pokemon. The bird-like Swablu took the Sonicboom attack without much difficulty and the following Shock Wave with considerably more, and unleashed a Round attack on the trapped Voltorb.

The Voltorb, surprisingly, didn't even flinch, retaliating with a second Shock Wave.

"Wahahaha! Jedlik has the Soundproof ability! Your Swablu's Round isn't going to do much!"

"Storming skies," Wil swore, switching in his Trapinch to weather Voltorb's next Shock Wave attack, followed by a Sonicboom. "Faint Attack, Solitude."

"Wahahaha! Selfdestruct, Jedlik!"

_Damn it._

"Bide, Solitude," Wil ordered as the Voltorb unleashed an explosion of energy. Unfortunately for him, the Trapinch was knocked clean out by the explosion.

"Wahahaha! Pacinotti, it's your turn!"

A Magnemite burst from Wattson's Pokeball, and Wil swore under his breath. The Steel-type was not particularly fast, but to his two remaining Pokemon, it was a defensive powerhouse. Neither of his remaining Pokemon would be able to do much to a Magnemite.

Predictably, some four Shock Waves later, both Echo and Spiteful had been knocked out.

"Wahahaha! You got guts, Bird Keeper! I like you!" Wattson laughed, meeting his opponent in the middle of the battlefield. "Why, if you'd come in a week or two earlier, you probably would have won!"

"What do you mean?" Wil pondered, surprised, as he drew a small bundle of notes from his wallet.

"You know the League bureaucracy, kid," Wattson laughed. "Takes forever for things to happen! The minimum age of trainers was raised to sixteen seven years ago, and only now they're raising the standards of Gym Pokemon to match! It just happened last week, in fact!"

That made sense, Wil supposed. As he turned to leave, Wattson hollered after him, "Come back anytime, kid!"

* * *

"Voltorb, Magnemite, and probably Electrike," Wil muttered to himself, reclining in a stiff aluminum chair as he pondered both the menu in his hands and the battle he had lost just a few hours ago. Snoozing on one of the other chairs at his table was Solitude, while Spiteful and Echo perched on the back of that chair.

"Are you ready to order, sir?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, that's right. I want the... uh... this one. How do you pronounce this? The..."

"The 'Chilaquiles Verdes'?"

"Er, yeah. That one."

"Do you want milk to go with that?"

"Huh? No, uh, orange juice."

"...alright, if you say so. Pokemon food?"

"Yes, of course." With that, the waiter turned and left, and Wil turned back to his pondering, tugging his Pokedex from his jacket. _Yes, that should do..._

"Well, fancy seeing you here!"

"Waurgh!" Wil exclaimed, shooting up from his chair and spinning around to come face to face with none other than League Ranger Noa Calvis. His hands fumbled with his Pokedex, nearly dropping it. "Noa! What are you doing here?"

"I do come from Mauville, you know," Noa replied, shooting Wil a questioning look. "Can't I visit my family?"

"What, you mean your family actually cares about you?" Wil shot at him sarcastically, gingerly sitting back down.

"I'm beginning to think no one should ever invite you into their home," Noa retorted as he tugged out a chair and sat down. "So, how have you been?"

"Please don't use that line on me," Wil snorted. "It's only the second most common conversation starter there is."

Chuckling, the ranger conceded, "Fine, would you rather have me use the most common one?"

"Skies above, no. Considering that the single most common conversation starter in the world is, 'Hey, you! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!'" Wil mimicked the standard hyperactive trainer along Route 111, then shuddered. "I don't ever want to hear those words again."

Chuckling, Noa informed him, "Perhaps you ought to look into a change of career, then."

"I haven't hit my midlife crisis yet. You, on the other hand, look old enough to be _riiight_ there. Is that natural, or is it genetic?"

"Genetic? What's that supposed to-"

Noa's answer was forestalled by the waiter stopping by their table. "Welcome, sir; would you like anything?"

"Certainly," Noa replied, not even bothering to glance at the menu. "Get me a Banjo Burger with chips, and a glass of cherry-lime soda." Turning back to Wil, Noa questioned, "How many badges have you gotten so far?"

"Just the one," Wil replied.

"Have you challenged Wattson yet?" A single glance at his companion's face answered the ranger's question. "Oh, man, you _have_. He creamed you, didn't he? Second badge... Did he use a Raichu?"

"No," Wil replied sheepishly. "I got trashed by his Magnemite."

"Magnemite? You have a Trapinch, don't you? That Trapinch should eat that thing alive!"

"Selfdestruct."

"...ah."

The two companions lapsed into a momentary silence that was interrupted once again by their waiter. "Chilaquiles Verdes, sir," the waiter informed Wil, setting a golden-brown dish in front of him.

"...You ordered the Verdes?" Noa questioned, slightly incredulously.

"Yep," Wil replied, scooping some of it into his mouth and swallowing with apparent difficulty. "How do you eat this inferno?" The trainer gasped.

Noa chuckled, waving down the waiter. "Two glasses of milk for my friend, please," he informed the man, no small amount of amusement in his tone. "So, when are you going to ask Wattson for a rematch?"

Wil took a long gulp of his orange juice. "Tomorrow morning," he replied.

"Really." The experienced trainer deadpanned. "You fought him just a few hours ago, right? Hope you spent those hours training. Actually, no; you're asking for another beating, Wil."

"Nope. I spent those hours switching my three Pokemon in and out." Wil ate another spoonful of his food, then took another long draught from his glass of orange juice. "Here's my plan."

* * *

COUNTER CLOSED. PLEASE PROCEED INSIDE FOR ASSISTANCE.

Pushing open the door that led to the battlefield, Wil wasn't surprised to see Wattson mopping the floor with a challenger.

"Wahahaha! Back already, are you?" The Gym Leader grinned at the black-clad Wil from his position on the battlefield. "Faraday, Shock Wave!" At his command, the Manectric loosed an arcing bolt of electricity that shocked his challenger's Skarmory out of the air, knocking it out.

The Gym Leader's current challenger switched his fainted Skarmory out for a Magneton, and they continued their battle.

"Guy's here for his eighth badge," Angelo, standing by the side of the battlefield, informed him. "He's getting thrashed – Wattson's knocked out his Aggron, Empoleon and Skarmory, and he's only had his Electrode knocked out." As they spoke, the Manectric let loose a debilitating Flamethrower, and the Magneton clattered to the ground.

"Magneton is unable to battle!" Angelo announced, before turning back to his companion. "Yeah," he chuckled, "just wait a little while. Wattson will finish mopping the floor with this guy, then he'll get to you." As he said that, the challenger's Lucario went down to a Thunderbolt. "Lucario is unable to battle," he announced, then, quietly, "How did this guy get seven badges?"

"Wahahaha! Flamethrower, Faraday!"

"Ferrothorn is unable to battle. Victory goes to Leader Wattson, of Mauville Gym!"

* * *

"This is a three-on-three battle between Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town and Leader Wattson of Mauville Gym! Only the challenger may switch Pokemon. Begin!" Angelo announced.

"Jedlik! Shock this guy again!"

"Spiteful, flight! Confuse Ray!"

"Wahahaha! Shock Wave, Jedlik!"

As Wil expected, the Shock Wave attack dealt a fair amount of damage to Spiteful, but it pushed past the pain, letting loose a Confuse Ray that left the Voltorb rolling around in a very amusing fashion. The Zubat followed up with a Toxic attack, putting its opponent on a timer.

"Wahahaha! You've really been thinking about this, haven't you?"

"Of course," Wil smirked.

_"Wattson has three Pokemon," Wil explained to the ranger. "Two of them will probably be the same Voltorb and Magnemite he used in our first battle. The third is likely to be either a Pikachu, an Electrike, or worst-case, a Raichu. He'll probably open with his Voltorb again, but whatever the case, I'll lead with Spiteful, who should be able to take a single Shock Wave from any of them except Raichu and retaliate with Confuse Ray. That'll stun Wattson's Pokemon for just a split second as it takes hold. That's long enough for me to get in a Toxic on anything but Magnemite, which would just shrug off the poison..."_

"You're still going to have to work to win this!" Wattson grinned a megawatt grin. "Shock Wave, Jedlik!" The Voltorb, still confused, let out a few puny sparks of electricity, and Wil moved swiftly, his Trapinch rearing its head as it absorbed the subsequent Shock Wave attack. The Voltorb rolled forwards, its eyes sharp and focused once again, and Wattson laughed a booming laugh.

_"...and switch out to Solitude if I anticipate a Shock Wave."_

As Wattson opened his mouth to issue a command, Wil's hand flashed out, switching in Spiteful once again. "Flight, Spiteful!"

"Sonicboom, Jedlik!"

Twirling acrobatically, the Zubat spun out of the way of the Sonicboom, then dived towards the Voltorb, flying low to the ground before dissolving once more into red light. In its place, the Trapinch reared its head once more, absorbing the Voltorb's Shock Wave attack.

_"Once Toxic sets in, his first Pokemon is on a timer. If it's Voltorb, I can just switch my Pokemon repeatedly. At mid-range, Spiteful is fast enough to dodge everything a Voltorb can throw at it, and I have enough of a delay to switch in Solitude to take any Shock Waves."_

"Faint Attack!"

On Wil's command, the Trapinch lunged at its opponent, tackling it hard from behind and following up with a painful Bite attack.

_"A couple rounds of that, and Wattson will start to wise up to my plan. Fortunately, Voltorb isn't the most sturdy Pokemon, and by that time, two or three attacks should be able to knock it clean out."_

"Wahahaha! Selfdestruct, Jedlik!"

"Bide, Sol!"

As the explosion cleared, the battlefield revealed an unconscious Voltorb and a conscious Trapinch, trembling painfully.

Wattson laughed again, switching his fainted Voltorb for his second Pokemon, and as it began to materialise, Wil shouted, "Now, Solitude!" At his command, the Trapinch unleashed a burst of white energy from its Bide attack, overwhelming the Electrike before it could move.

_"Executed perfectly, I should be able to defeat Voltorb without taking a lick of damage aside from its opening Shock Wave. Even if it manages to use Selfdestruct, Solitude shouldn't have been hit by anything before. That means it won't be knocked out straightaway, and I can retaliate with Bide, which will take out his second Pokemon. Not even a Raichu should be able to take it."_

"Wahahaha! You're good at this, kid! I like you! Return, Frayne," Wattson boomed, recalling his fainted Electrike. "Pacinotti, go! Sonicboom!"

As the dreaded Magnemite materialised, Wil switched out his Trapinch once again. "Spiteful, flight! Confuse Ray!"

The Zubat once more took to the air, flipping gracefully around the Sonicboom attack and retaliating with its Confuse Ray, the flickering orb of light confusing the Magnemite. Even confused, though, Wattson's command to his Magnemite didn't fail to register, the Steel-type Pokemon unleashing an arc of electricity that shocked the Zubat out of the air.

_"The worst-case scenario is that Voltorb lets off its Selfdestruct, and Wattson's second Pokemon isn't his Magnemite. Only Solitude can beat Magnemite, and definitely not while it's near collapsing. At that point, I switch in Spiteful to dodge whatever attack Magnemite levels at me and use Confuse Ray."_

"Return, Spiteful," Wil called, silently apologising to the Zubat, and with a graceful flourish, Echo the Swablu took flight. "Echo, use Sing!" Two consecutive Shock Waves refused to knock the Swablu out of the air, and the Magnemite soon clattered to the floor, asleep.

_"Ideally, that will create enough of an opening to get Echo in safely. Echo can take some three Shock Waves from Magnemite, which, factoring in its confusion, should be more than enough time to Sing it to sleep."_

_Why does a Magnemite even need to sleep?_ Wil wondered as he switched in his Trapinch and called for a Sand Tomb, the super-effective attack erupting beneath the Magnemite. "Again, Sol, Sand Tomb," he instructed.

Sturdy as Magnemite was, it couldn't hope to take more than two of the Ground-typed attacks, and as its eye snapped open, Wil called, "Faint Attack."

_"At that point, it's a matter of switching in Solitude to drop Sand Tomb on the sleeping Magnemite. It can definitely take one, but probably not two. Even if it knocks Solitude out, Echo should be able to finish the battle."_

Avoiding the retaliatory Sonicboom, the Trapinch lunged at the Magnemite, knocking it out.

* * *

"Wahahahaha! That was an electrifying battle! You shocked me!" Wattson once again met his challenger in the middle of the battlefield. "You have a lot of potential, kiddo!" The jolly man pressed a Dynamobadge and a yellow disc into Wil's hand. "Keep training that mind of yours. You'll go far, for sure!"

"What does that even mean?" Wil wondered, as he turned to leave, his voice drowned out by Wattson's booming laughter.

"You lose a lot, kid?" Angelo smirked at him as he passed by.

Thinking back to his journey so far, Wil banished the thought of Absolute Terror and his Absolute Terror Zigzagoon, replying, "Not really. Why?"

"You're using some pretty high-level tactics, kid," the Gym Trainer replied. "Fighting the way you've been fighting is bound to overwhelm a lot of your peers right now, with one or two Gym badges, or even three. When you progress a bit further, though, and the competition starts getting smarter, you'll find battles getting a lot tougher."

"What I'm trying to say, kid, is... don't get cocky," the newly dubbed Advice Angelo said seriously. "Wattson's right; from the way you've been battling, you have a lot of potential. You have this... this eye for identifying ways to beat an opponent, like you did with my Illumise. I'll bet you were thinking the same way when fighting Wattson the first time, and used that to beat him the second time around."

Advice Angelo grinned a crooked grin. "Honestly? When you walked in that second time, none of us thought you'd be able to win. I mean, Wattson absolutely creamed you, and that was just yesterday! Then you walk in, less than twenty-four hours later, and prove us all wrong."

Wil pursed his lips. "Thanks, I guess. Say, one of the Lavaridge Gym trainers told me that you can apply to become a Gym trainer for experience. What did she mean, exactly? Aside from getting to battle challengers?"

"She'd be right," the young man chuckled. "When you battle as a Gym Trainer, the Leader you're attached to will watch your battles and give you advice afterwards. There're also lessons and stuff that the Leader conducts. It's different from Gym to Gym, really," Advice Angelo paused, clearly thinking. "It's a great experience, even if your chosen type specialty isn't the same as the Gym's. I'm a Bug trainer, for example, but Quan and Quist have gotten a lot out of being here, even though we've only been attached to this gym for a week."

"Say, how much are you paid?"

"Oh, about... actually, you know what? Go sign up and find out for yourself."

"At an Electric gym? No thanks," Wil smirked.

* * *

**In that opening scene, over the telephone, Wattson was totally watching MLP. **

**Next chapter due: 9/2/2014. Don't cry too much at the two-week window because the next chapter will probably be up in a week. Just, you know, no promises about that one week.  
**


	9. Aspiration

**Hey, the chapter's a day early! Well, you know... technically. Even if it is kind of a 'meh' chapter which I don't really like. ****In other news, Chapter 11 is finished (and for an unrepentant string of battles, I actually quite like how it turned out), Chapter 12 is on the way (slowly), and Chapter 1 has been updated. It's still the same idea - Jakob battling for the championship - but the original was a terrible battle and I much prefer the updated version. It's a bit more of a curbstomp, but hey.**

**Might have forgotten to mention this last time - Wattson's Pokemon are named from the Wikipedia page on dynamos. Except for his Electrike - I googled Dynamo and on the right there was this stub about a magician, so I just used that.  
**

**Chapter 9: Aspiration**

* * *

"I saw your battle." Elsa told Wil over one of the Pokemon Centre's video-calling stations.

"...what?"

"Your battle. You told me last time you called – that was when you first got into Mauville, right? Yeah, you said you'd be challenging Wattson the next day, remember?" Elsa supplied helpfully.

"Right," Wil recalled, fidgeting with the lapel of his jacket and the Dynamo Badge he had pinned to it specially for the call.

"Yep, I saw that battle. You know what I think cost you that match? It was the Selfdestruct, if you ask me. You have to be careful of that one. I mean, of your three Pokemon, your Trapinch is the only one which _isn't_ weak to Electric, so you have to be careful – don't let him catch you with that next time. You got that?"

"Mmhmm," Wil nodded noncommittally.

"Also, that Swablu of yours, she's tougher than you'd think. I mean, you saw her take like, three- _is that the Dynamo Badge?"_

"Yep," Wil drawled.

"When did you get that?" Elsa shrieked over Wil's howls of laughter.

"Just this morning," Wil supplied, grinning evilly at his friend.

* * *

"Echo, where are- what are you doing over there?"

Wil spun, interrupting his peaceful walk down the street, eyes alighting on his Swablu, who was currently perched on a white fence. It was chirping curiously, eyes on a building that didn't quite rival the Mauville Gym for prominence, but certainly not for lack of trying. _Is that an honest-to-goodness glass dome?_

"Well, you silly bird, you've certainly piqued my curiosity, haven't you? Come on." Wil scooped the cheerful, chirping Swablu into his arms and- "Hey, what-ow! Watch where you put your claws!"

Muttering something about 'silly, hat-loving bird' under his breath, Wil pushed his way through the glimmering glass doors, a Swablu perched happily on his head.

"Welcome to the Mauville City Contest Hall, sir! Are you here to participate? The next available contest is tomorrow."

"Observe my scruffy clothing," Wil gestured grandly to himself, "scruffy Pokemon – ow! Watch it, Echo! – and tell me you seriously think I'm here to compete."

Slightly miffed, the receptionist gestured to a door, informed him, "If you wish to observe, sir, the next contest starts in five minutes." At this, Echo let out a cheerful series of tweets, tugging his hat from his head and, hat firmly in its claws, fluttered towards the door.

"No, Echo – give that back! That was from Elsa!"

* * *

"Excuse me, young man, your Swablu is blocking our view." A tap on Wil's shoulder informed him that the elder couple behind him was speaking to him, although he reckoned it was fairly obvious.

"Get off my head, Echo – I'm sure you can see just fine from my lap," Wil tugged the bird from his head, and, ignoring the Pokemon's undignified squawk, plopped it firmly in his lap.

The murmuring of the crowd died down shortly after, and Wil's attention was drawn to the stage as the red curtains parted. Sunlight streamed in from the glass dome overhead, and a series of glass panels refracted the natural light into a spotlight that highlighted the emerging announcer.

"Welcome, one and all, to the Mauville City Ultra-Rank Cute Contest!" Cheers broke out amidst the crowd, and Wil's Swablu sang a high melody that blended in with the crowd's screaming.

"I'm Meridian Culwen, and I will be your emcee for today! With me are our three judges – Contest Judge Eagle, Gym Leader Wattson, and Mr. Tim Hexa, better known as the Rock Smash Dude! We have some twenty contestants today, competing for the Ultra-Rank Cute Ribbon!" The screen behind her focused suddenly on the item she was waving around in the air, which turned out to be a fancy-looking pink ribbon. "Twenty contestants... but only one ribbon!"

Faces suddenly started flashing on the screen – Wil didn't bother to count them, but he assumed there were twenty – bordering the ribbon that was still on display. "For any newcomers," the emcee continued, "the contest is split up into three rounds – the Condition Round, the Appeals Round and the Battle Rounds. In the Condition Round, the contestant's Pokemon will be judged simultaneously based solely on their appearance. In the Appeals Round, each contestant will be given one minute to make an appeal with four of their Pokemons' moves. And in the battle rounds, contestants will battle one another while showing off their Pokemons' cuteness and skill!"

In reality, Wil was only half paying attention to the emcee's blather, absentmindedly stroking the top of his Swablu's head.

"Now," the announcer joked, "I'm sure none of you want to watch the judges look at the contestants' Pokemon doing nothing for five minutes. Well, I have good news for you! The Condition Round has already been conducted!" At this, the entire crowd broke out into deafening cheers, and Wil's hands shot from atop his Swablu's head to cover his ears.

"Does everyone hate that part?" Wil wondered to himself, his voice drowned out by the cheering of the audience.

"Now," the emcee announced, "let's welcome our first contestant, Serena Clerici of Petalburg City!"

"Stage on, Carabaffe!"

Carabaffe turned out to be a Wartortle, which released a Bubble attack into the air, shortly followed by a Blizzard. The Wartortle then leapt into the air, using an Aqua Tail to pop the frozen bubbles, creating a sparkling aura around it. It finished with a Mirror Coat, taking full advantage of the natural sunlight streaming in and the refractive ice crystals around it to create a sublimely sparkling display of light.

The audience _oohed_ and _aahed_, and the Swablu in his lap fluttered its wings, chirping excitedly, but Wil honestly didn't really give a damn. He began to zone out during a Lapras' Ice Shard, began to ignore the proceedings while a Masquerain used Water Sport, and outright fell asleep during a Wigglytuff's Sing.

In his defense, it was _boring_. Wil had nothing against Pokemon contests, but he greatly favoured Musicals, instead. At least in Pokemon Musicals there was an actual plot.

* * *

The Swablu stirring uncomfortably in his lap roused Wil from his slumber. "What is it, Echo?" he questioned groggily as his eyes drifted to the stage. Apparently he had skipped most of the battles as the two contestants squaring off against one another were the finalists – a young man with green hair and a stylish purple jacket, and a slightly older woman dressed in yellow.

Glancing at the screen, Wil tried to puzzle out the two green bars beside the contestants' faces.

"Begin!" The announcer's loud proclamation shocked whatever bleariness remained from Wil's body, and the two contestants released their Pokemon – a Masquerain and a Togetic. As this happened, the contestants' faces on the screen were cut in half diagonally, the lower half changing to display their Pokemon.

"Mosnal, start with Stun Spore!"

"Heat Wave, Areni."

The Bug-typed Masquerain released a cloud of yellow spores that drifted towards its fairy-like opponent, but the Togetic responded with a searing blast of hot air that arced visibly across the field, distorting the image of anything behind it. The Heat Wave fried the yellow Stun Spores in the air, with a good deal left over to damage the Bug Pokemon behind the spores.

"Tailwind, Mosnal."

The additional burst of speed provided by the Tailwind allowed the Masquerain to flit out of the way of the Fire attack, and the two Pokemon stared each other down once more.

Wil's attention was drawn to the screen, where he noted that the green bars were inexplicably shorter than before. As the Togetic glowed with a dark aura, the Masquerain launched a Hydro Pump that raced across the field once more, and its opponent visibly staggered. The green bar on the screen visibly decreased, as well.

_So it's like... like a visible health bar? Then why would they be shorter when neither attack hit?_

The Togetic's trainer ordered a Mirror Move, and water coalesced around the fairy-like Pokemon, rocketing towards the Masquerain. Unfortunately for the Togetic, the Masquerain, still experiencing the speed-boosting effect of Tailwind, simply flitted away once more, and the Togetic's green bar, now obviously not a visible health bar, shortened some more.

"Nasty Plot again, Areni," the yellow-clad contestant ordered, and the Togetic began to hover, a dark aura once again surrounding it. The Masquerain launched another Hydro Pump, visibly pushing back its opponent, and the Togetic's green bar dropped once more, now at a dangerously low level.

"One minute left!"

"Start closing in, Areni, but don't let it hit you," the contestant called, and suddenly, the Masquerain slowed down visibly as its Tailwind wore off.

"Now! Ancientpower!"

Bereft of its speed boost, the Masquerain took the boosted super-effective Ancientpower attack head-on, fainting immediately. It wasn't a particularly elegant victory, but the yellow-clad contestant seemed satisfied enough.

Wil didn't bother to stay for the prize presentation ceremony.

* * *

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Echo! Where are you?"

Silence and a few odd looks greeted the trainer's call. "Storming skies," Wil swore under his breath, spinning around and retracing his steps back towards the Pokemon Centre. He was about halfway there when his eyes alighted on a fluffy blue form perched on a familiar white fence. "There you are, silly Echo," he huffed. "Come here, you."

Turning, the Swablu looked him in the eyes, widening its own and giving a great impression of a pathetic, sad puppy – that is, if puppies had wings and beaks. The trainer stopped short upon seeing the Swablu's face. "You have got to be kidding me," he groaned, instantly aware of what the Swablu wanted. "We are not going into contests. No, don't give me that face! I am not a sucker for puppy dog – puppy bird – that face! I'm not a sucker! I'm not!"

Silence reigned for a few moments.

"I am such a sucker," Wil groaned, plucking the Swablu from the fence and entering the glass building.

"Welcome to the Mauville City Contest Hall, sir! Are you here to participate?" The receptionist was cheery as ever.

"Not yet," Wil forced out over his Swablu's happy chirping. "I'm looking for... ah, resources. How contests work, strategies, and all. Books?"

"Certainly, sir! I can recommend a few books for you," the receptionist smiled.

"Beginners' books," Wil added hurriedly, as she picked up a pen and began to write.

"Here are three you may find useful." The woman handed him a list. "Go to the Mauville library and look for them. We hope to see you again soon!"

"You don't have them here?" Wil questioned, slightly surprised.

"Of course not, sir. This is a contest hall, not a library."

"I can tell the difference, lady," Wil ground out as he turned to leave, Echo fluttering behind him.

* * *

_Contests in the Hoenn Region are generally split into three segments – the Condition segment, the Appeals segment, and the Battle segment. Points for the Condition and Appeals segments are weighted together, and the top eight contestants will proceed to the Battle segment._

Wil forced himself to continue reading, oblivious to the fact that the book he was reading simply reiterated the words of the previous day's announcer.

_The Condition segment of the contest judges only a Pokemon's appearance. It is normally conducted on stage, with contestants releasing all of their Pokemon at once, and the judges assigning individual scores to each Pokemon._

_The Appeals segment of the contest judges a Pokemon's skill at appealing. With a combination of up to four moves, the Pokemon is to present a show that should capture the attention of both the audience and the judges that highlights its prowess in whichever contest type it is competing in. _Wil wondered vaguely about the different contest types. He also took the opportunity to let his mind wander off, distracted, and it was a good few minutes before his attention returned to the page.

_The Battle segment of a contest judges a Pokemon's skill at battling, while still showcasing its skill and appearance. In the Battle segment, each Pokemon is given a point total. Points are lost when a Pokemon's attack misses, or when the opposing Pokemon scores a hit. Using certain moves may also result in one's points decreasing._

"Useless," Wil hissed, annoyed. "For every question it answers, three more pop up in its place." Echo, perched on his head and pretending to read alongside him, chirped mournfully.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm afraid I have to ask you and your Swablu to tone down your volume."

"Right, right," Wil dismissed the librarian, purposefully raising his voice, and forced himself to continue reading.

_Contests are divided into five different types – Tough, Cool, Smart, Cute, and Beauty Contests. Each contest type focuses on the given aspect of a Pokemon – _"No shit?" Wil hissed sarcastically under his breath – _with moves also having assigned aspects. For example, many Water-type moves are considered under the Beauty aspect, while Ghost- and Psychic-type moves are normally considered Smart._

_In addition, for a given contest type, two other types are considered secondary to it, while the last two types are considered opposing-_

Wil gave up reading – the book was hilariously unclear, failed to elaborate on certain key points, and unbelievably dull. Not bothering to return it to the shelf, the trainer stood and left, his Swablu fluttering behind him, every so often casting glances at the book.

* * *

"We've already lost half a day of travelling thanks to you," Wil informed his Swablu as they strolled down a street in Mauville City. The Pokemon, at least, had the grace to put on a contrite face as they turned down another street. "In fact, the- hey, wait!" Wil called as Echo fluttered off again. "Aw, great, not again," he groaned, as the glass-domed contest hall came into view once again. "No, Echo; we're not going back in. Echo!"

Turning, the blue bird regarded its trainer curiously, only to be met in the face by the red light of its Pokeball.

"More trouble than you're worth," Wil muttered affectionately to the Pokeball as he turned to leave, letting out the Swablu only when the contest hall was well out of sight.

"Listen, you," he informed the Pokemon, "it's all well and good that you want to go into contests, but I need you to be strong, as well. No, don't give me that face, Echo. I'm not a sucker for puppy eyes... oh, _fine_. Work hard, and I'll see what I can do. All right?"

"I am such a sucker," Wil muttered to himself as the Swablu fluttered happily around his head. "Come on, Echo, we're going to Verdanturf."

* * *

If the Route 111-112 stretch, connecting Mauville City and Lavaridge Town, was considered tame, then Route 117, connecting Mauville and Verdanturf, was a walk in the park.

Quite literally, considering that the short Route was filled with flowers, idyllic ponds, and even a Pokemon Daycare.

"Don't you people ever take the time to stop and smell the roses?" A blonde-haired girl, seemingly a new trainer, pouted at an athlete dressed in black.

"Lady, I'm_ training for a triathalon_," the athlete huffed in reply as he did jumping jacks. "Five, two, three, four..." His Pokemon, a Doduo, appeared to be training alongside him, substituting its two heads for arms.

Frankly, the sight of the bird doing jumping jacks was hilarious, and Wil fought, unsuccessfully, to stifle his laughter, the Zubat perched on his shoulder tilting its head curiously.

"Is that guy laughing at us?" Bird Jack wondered to his Doduo, who squawked in reply, making Wil laugh all the more.

"If he is, you deserve it," the girl sniffed. "All you people are so _uncouth _and _rude_. Why, I'm sure if everyone stopped to admire the roses, the world would be a much better place." As if to back her up, the Roselia beside her pirouetted on its stubby legs. "You, there," she called, and Wil groaned mentally, knowing without looking that the girl was referring to him. "You seem like a cultured young man; I'm certain your parents brought you up well. Don't you just love the smell of flowers?"

In any other circumstance, Wil would have cut her off mid-sentence. However, between the Doduo that was _still_ doing jumping jacks and Flower Girl's odd train of thought, the trainer was stunned into silence, his gobsmacked brain strugging to string together an insulting sentence.

"You see, you?" Flower Girl cooed – actually _cooed_– to the athlete, who promptly stopped his jumping jacks, sat down, and started doing butterfly kicks. Privately, Wil wished he had continued his jumping jacks – a Doduo sitting on the floor waving its legs in the air was funny, but nowhere near the unmatched hilarity of a Doduo doing jumping jacks.

"This cultured young man appreciates the smell of flowers, _unlike some people_," Flower Girl continued.

"Lady, lay off me," Bird Jack groaned. "Not everyone has time to stop and smell the roses."

"How dare you," she huffed in reply. "Why, this young man over here-"

"Is from Fallabor," Wil cut her off smoothly, having regained facility of his brain and mouth. "Everything in Fallabor smells of ash. Most things taste of ash, too."

The sight of Flower Girl's open jaw and bulging eyes made Wil crack up once more into uncontrollable laughter.

"He's actually cackling," Bird Jack observed. "I didn't think people cackled in real life."

* * *

"Hey, Elsa."

"Wil," she greeted him, her voice slightly distorted by the phone line. "Good to hear from you. How have you been? Make any new friends?"

"With my oh-so-charming demeanor? Do you really think so?" Wil questioned, pretending to be surprised.

"Nope," Elsa laughed, a crystal-clear, tinkling sound. "You're going to die a lonely old man, you know."

Wil allowed the comfortable silence to drag on for a few seconds before he prompted, "Notice how I didn't exactly say no."

"You mean you actually found someone willing to be your travelling companion?" Elsa questioned incredulously.

"...no," Wil admitted. "The guy's a ranger, he patrols the outer half of Route 113, which is where I met him. Ran into him again in Mauville. We chatted for a while. He's a good man."

"It's a start, I guess," Elsa replied dryly. "I know just how stingy you are with compliments, too."

"Oh, right," Wil recalled, "I just hit Verdanturf Town – thought I'd let you know that. You know, just reassuring you that I'm not dead."

"Good to hear that. I'm sure we'd all have trouble going along with our daily lives if you'd dropped dead in a park," Elsa deadpanned.

"Seriously, though, you have got to come down here sometime. The air is super clean; it's nothing like Fallabor. I'll fly you down here one day," Wil grinned. "For your birthday or something... say, have you ever seen a Doduo doing jumping jacks?"

"A _what_?" Elsa burst out laughing. "That... how... did you actually see one?"

"Believe it," Wil smirked, as his long strides slowed to a stop. "...I'll call you back, Elsa."

"Hmm? Oh, sure... See you, Wil."

Wil pocketed his phone, glancing up at the majestic red structure his feet had led him to.

* * *

"Welcome to the Verdanturf Town Contest Hall, sir. Are you here to participate in a contest?"

"So that's what this red box is," Wil realised. "A contest hall."

"...pardon me, sir?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Wil said, not sounding particularly apologetic, as his Zubat alighted on his shoulder, nuzzling him. "I saw this giant red building and just had to know what it was for. Gotta say, this isn't like the Mauville City Contest Hall."

The receptionist smiled a tight smile. "The Mauville City hall holds contests more often, sir, and it has a bigger budget, but I'm proud to say that the Verdanturf hall is a pillar of the community. It's a cool place for teenagers to hang out – keep them out of bad influences, and suchlike – and we also offer contest classes for coordinators of all ages."

"I see. That sounds interesting," Wil said, not sounding particularly interested as he plucked a brochure from the counter. "Come on, Spiteful, let's go."

"_An Introduction to the Contest Circuit for Beginning Coordinators_," Wil later read aloud to his Swablu as they relaxed in the Pokemon Centre. "Tomorrow, ten in the morning. Will that do, you silly bird?" He asked affectionately.

* * *

"Sweet skies, Echo," Wil complained, "did you really make me sit through two hours of... _that?_" The Swablu, at least, had the decency to pretend not to be completely ecstatic, instead putting on a mask of contrition.

"Well, at least now I know how a contest works," Wil muttered to himself. "It'd be hard to participate if the thing were complete gibberish to me. Let's see... Condition judges a Pokemon's appearance only; Appeals judges a Pokemon's presentation, and Battles judges a Pokemon's ability," he recapped. "And that Pokedex tip... useful."

Drawing out his Pokedex, Wil manoeuvred to an untouched settings page, muttering to himself, "Pokedex Diplay Options... Display General... Display All. Echo," he called, and the Bird Pokemon alighted on his shoulder, letting him scan it with the Pokedex.

_Swablu, female_

_Normal/Flying type_

_Known moves:_

_(Level-up)_

_Growl – Normal (STS), reduces target Attack. (Cute)_

_Peck – Flying (PHY), damages target (Cool)_

_Astonish – Ghost (PHY), damages target. High chance to cause a flinch if successful. (Smart)_

_Sing – Normal (STS), puts the target to sleep. (Cute)_

_Fury Attack – Normal (PHY), damages target multiple times. (Cool)_

_Safeguard – Normal (STS), protects team from inflicted status conditions for a set duration. (Beauty)_

_Mist – Ice (STS), protects team from inflicted reduction in stats for a set duration. (Beauty)_

_Round – Normal (SPC), damages target. Powers up if allies use Round beforehand. (Smart)_

_(future attacks - expand)_

_(Egg moves)_

_(none)_

_(Tutored moves)_

_(none)_

"Wow, that is a lot of information," Wil whistled. "How does this device even tell all of this? Never mind, I don't really want to know." Arriving at a clear field on the outskirts of Verdanturf, he let out Solitude and Spiteful. "All right, you two just rest and watch, for now... Come on, Echo, let's try to put together an appeal. Use Safeguard, let's see how it looks."

Obligingly, Echo sang a clear, high note, twirling in the air, and its body became surrounded by a mystical, shining veil that extended to cover Solitude and Spiteful as well. The two spectating Pokemon, seemingly sensing that the veil was beneficial, didn't so much as flinch.

"Mist," Wil instructed, and the Cotton Bird, hovering in the air, blew out a thick, white cloud that diffused into the air. "Are those... ice crystals?" Wil wondered, waving a hand through the mist and feeling a slight chill on his skin. "Wonder how that prevents stat reductions..." An irritated squawk from within the white fog brought Wil's attention back to his current task. "No, I guess this won't work," he decided. "What else do we have...? Try Sing."

Still shrouded in Mist, the Swablu began to sing a soulful melody, but Wil cut it off shortly after it began. "You can stop, Echo." He continued, muttering to himself, "That doesn't really interact with anything else. Maybe as a finisher... damn, I'm running out of moves!"

From within Safeguard's veil, Echo chirped curiously as Wil fiddled with his Pokedex. "Natural Gift, Take Down, Refresh, Mirror Move, Cotton Guard, Dragon Pulse, Perish Song, Moonblast," he recited to himself from the Pokedex. He tried to recall what he had seen of appeals from the Mauville City contest, but the overwhelming impression he had was that they were dazzling displays of light and sound - none of which his Swablu was capable of.

"Forget it," Wil sighed, defeated. "Let's get to training."

* * *

**It's been so long since I wrote this thing I don't even remember where all the names came from anymore... I remember Clerici is Anime May's Italian name, or something like that. All the Contest Pokemon were used by anime recurring contestants, too. Beyond that... nope. Googling 'Carabaffe' tells me that it's French for 'Wartortle', though.  
**

**Next Chapter due: 14/02/14**


	10. Kinship

**Wow. So chapters are, like... getting longer. All the finished chapters from here onwards clock 5k at least. Far cry from before. I think it's the battles, personally...**

**Chapter 10: Kinship**

* * *

"Thank you for waiting; we've restored your Pokemon to full health. We hope to see you again!"

Retrieving his Pokeballs from the nurse, Wil customarily picked one out and released the Pokemon inside. The Zubat, chittering happily, alighted on his shoulder, and he chuckled, reaching up to stroke its fur.

"That's a fine Zubat you have there, young man," the Nurse informed him cheerily. "It's the smallest Zubat I've ever seen, but I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon who loves its trainer more."

"Thanks, I guess?" Wil replied, his voice a little hesitant. On its part, Spiteful tilted its head curiously, its ears swivelling slightly.

"You know," the nurse added, "there's a young lady in Verdanturf who can tell how close a Pokemon is to its trainer just by looking at them."

"Is that so?" Wil asked skeptically.

"I had my doubts, at first, too, but she's the real deal," the nurse insisted. "Not like that Footprint hoax guy in... Sinnoh, I think. Here," the nurse flipped open a brochure from the Pokemon Centre's counter, "Ms. Bond lives over here."

"An unfortunate name."

Ignoring his quip, the nurse continued, "You should pay her a visit. There's nothing she loves more than to see the bonds between Pokemon and Trainer. Seeing that Zubat of yours would certainly brighten up her day."

"I still think she's a hoax," Wil muttered audibly as he turned to leave.

* * *

"Welcome to my humble abode, trainer. May I have the honour of your name?"

Wil, taking a moment to digest the young woman's greeting and a second moment to digest the purple-and-green-spotted colour of her clothing, instantly regretted knocking on her door. "No, thank you," he replied smoothly. "I was just leaving."

"Come on in, trainer. Let me brew you a cup of tea."

"Hey, watch where you put your hands, lady, did I say you could grab me by the arm and forcibly lead me inside?"

"Of course you did," Ms. Bond assured him elegantly, bringing him to a chair, and Wil took a moment to recall the two sentences' worth of conversation he had shared with the odd woman.

"No, I did nothing of the sort!"

"Wait here, trainer, I will be back shortly." Even as the thought of making a break for freedom crossed his mind, the strange Ms. Bond had returned, gracefully setting a cup of hot tea on the wooden table before him. "Drink up," she prompted, and Wil found himself reaching for the cup before he forced his hand to stop moving. It was an odd feeling, Wil decided, not being in proper control of his faculties around this odd woman. Perhaps she had some sort of latent psychic power.

"Lady, you're crazy," the trainer informed his host. He also idly wondered when she had become his host and not 'that demented woman'.

Ignoring him, Ms. Bond informed him, "I know why you are here, Bird Keeper Wil Marche."

Wil spent a fair few moments rooted to his chair in shock, and a fair few moments more running through their conversation in his head, trying to recall _when, exactly, did I tell her my name? And my full name, at that? Wait..._

"Wait, I'm not a Bird Keeper," Wil pointed out to Ms. Bond._  
_

Unbidden, his three Pokeballs burst open. Echo the Swablu settled on his head, regarding the stranger with a curious, if somewhat wary, gaze. Spiteful the Zubat alighted on his shoulder, ears twitching slightly, and Solitude the Trapinch materialised on his lap, regarding Ms. Bond with suspicion.

On her part, the resident psychic looked a little surprised, though her face quickly schooled itself into the bland, though elegant, expression that she usually wore. "You and your Pokemon share a close bond," she informed her guest.

"Thank you very much for telling me that," Wil deadpanned. "It's not like I'm their trainer and spend the majority of every day with them."

Ignoring him, the odd Ms. Bond continued, "Your Swablu... she likes you quite a lot. Maybe she wants to be babied a little. Is there something she wants to do, perhaps?"

"Contests," Wil replied drolly. "I have no talent in such matters, though." He neglected to mention that he had been putting in some effort into learning.

"I see, trainer. Your Pokemon trusts you. Did you make a promise to it?"

"No," Wil replied, a little disarmed by the psychic's presence, and the Swablu hopped from his head to sit on the table, investigating Wil's untouched cup of tea.

"But you made one to yourself," she deduced, her piercing gaze meeting his surprised one. "Be sure to keep it. As for your Trapinch... he seems to trust you a whole lot, but he's still getting used to you. It is a strange duality."

"Is that so," Wil sounded unconvinced, and a little tense from being in the strange woman's presence.

"It is," Ms. Bond affirmed. "You should spend more time with your Trapinch."

"Don't I?"

"Your Trapinch... it is jealous of your other two Pokemon. I can feel it."

Abruptly, Wil stood, the Trapinch in his hands. "Screw this, we're getting out of here."

Ignoring him once again, the psychic persisted, "Your Zubat..."

"Come on, Echo, let's go. Off that table!" The Pokemon in question let out an undignified squawk.

"Your Zubat... she absolutely adores you," the psychic continued. "She can't possibly love you any more."

Wil, halfway to the door, was a little taken aback by this. "That so, little Spiteful?" He asked softly.

"Spiteful? If I may inquire, what led you to give such a kind Pokemon a name like that?"

"I thought she'd be a little spiteful about her size, when I first caught her," Wil replied, still wary of the odd woman. "Turns out she was just timid, but the name stuck."

"You lie."

Wil, though he expected her to call him on his lie, was surprised by the unusual directness of her speech. "That's not a very nice thing to say," he fired back.

"I know only the lie you fed me, Trainer." The psychic fixed her guest with a piercing gaze. "Only you know the truth."

"Let's go," Wil turned. "Echo, get over here, we're leaving!"

Unperturbed, the psychic watched him leave.

* * *

"We lost a good half a morning thanks to that crazy old hag," Wil grumbled as he strode towards the Verdanturf entrance to Rusturf Tunnel. Perched on his shoulder, Spiteful let out a cheerful twitter that contrasted greatly with its trainer's mood. "Yes, yes," Wil sighed sarcastically, "the Zubat is happy and all, please try not to ruin my bad mood." At this, Spiteful let out a sad-sounding squeak.

Wil refused to let it show, but he was greatly rattled by his visit to the psychic. "Rusturf Tunnel," he muttered, arriving at the entrance to the cave. "This is our ticket to Rustboro City. Spiteful, stay out and stay alert. There shouldn't be anything more threatening than Whismur inside, but keep an eye out anyway." He paused for a moment, thinking, then added, "Well, figuratively, anyway. You're totally welcome to evolve for eyes, though."

The Zubat tilted its head curiously, not fully understanding its trainer's joke – or, for that matter, the concept of _eyes_.

"Well," Wil said breezily, "let's go, Spiteful." The trainer and his Zubat companion took their first step into the tunnel.

"Ow! Dear skies, my ears!"

A mere three steps later, both trainer and Pokemon rushed out the cave. The former had his hands clamped firmly around his ears, while the latter was flying dazedly, giving one an impression of a Zubat that had drank its not-very-impressive body weight in alcohol.

From within the cave, the deafening cries of the horde of Whismur began to subside.

"What was that even about?" Wil wondered as the ringing in his ears began to subside, feeling vaguely sorry for anyone currently traversing the cave. "They seem to be quieting down, Spiteful. Let's try again."

The Zubat in question chose that moment to plant its face in the ground, squeaking pitifully.

"Fine, Spiteful; return. Solitude," Wil called, waving a hand through the air, and red light exchanged the Zubat for Wil's Trapinch.

This time, as the trainer and his companion entered the cave, the Whismur didn't erupt into a cacophony of noise. "Odd," Wil muttered, as he began to traverse the cave. A quick glance to towards his feet revealed that Solitude was struggling to keep pace with him. "This is why I usually let out the flyers, Sol," the trainer joked, slowing down so that the Pokemon could move at a more comfortable pace.

* * *

"Stop! Stop, you crook!"

"What the actual flying-"

_"WHIISSH!"_

Thankfully, the pink Whismur quietened down quickly, but the few moments of their deafening uproar were enough to nearly pop Wil's eardrums. As he removed his hands from his ears and opened his eyes, Wil became aware of what, exactly, had caused the Whismurs' distress.

Approaching him from the other end of Rusturf Tunnel were two figures. The nearer one, a young man not twenty-five years old, was dressed in blue, with a black-and-white striped shirt and a blue bandanna. The further appeared to be a girl about his age, clad in red, with a matching bandanna.

What was with these people and bandannas, anyway?

"Stop him!" The girl called, and Wil's eyes flashed from the briefcase in the man's hand to the feebly struggling Wingull under the man's arm.

"Solitude, forwards," he instructed, and the Trapinch squared itself for battle. Before him, the man skidded to a stop.

"Gah, keelhaul it all," the man growled, throwing his briefcase to the floor. "Stupid, worthless hostage Pokemon!" At this, the Wingull under the man's arms let out an undignified squawk. "And to think I'd almost gotten away, too!"

As the man spoke, his pursuer finally caught up, boxing him in on both sides. Beside her, red light materialised into the form of a Combusken, which stood in a battle-ready stance. The girl's breathing was heavy, but she demanded, "Give back the Devon Goods and let go of Peeko!" Peeko, Wil surmised, was the unfortunate Wingull.

"You want to battle me?" The grunt snarled, snatching two Pokeballs from his belt. "Poochyena! Carvanha! Battle, now! Carvanha, Ice Fang on the ant; Poochyena, Bite the chicken!"

"Horus, Double Kick!"

"Solitude, Faint Attack into Bulldoze."

In a matter of moments, the battle was over. As the Poochyena lunged towards its target, the Combusken lashed out with two sharp kicks in quick succession, immediately knocking out the dog-like Pokemon.

Wil's half of the battle went a little more slowly, but no less brutally. The Carvanha used its tail to leap into the air, aiming for Solitude, but a well-timed Faint Attack avoided the super-effective Ice Fang. Two Bulldoze attacks in quick succession, and the Carvanha fainted, leaving the criminal without Pokemon.

"This is plain not right," the man growled. "All I had to do was steal some package from Devon. It was supposed to be a quick, easy job! Tch! You want it that badly, take it!" He kicked the briefcase at his feet, dropping the Pokemon under his arm in an undignified pile on the floor, then turned and ran, roughly shouldering his way past a surprised Wil.

"Hey! Tch, he's gone," Wil muttered, irritated, before turning to the girl.

"Thanks... thanks for the help," she breathed, still panting. "Horus, return."

"So, what was that all about?" Wil questioned.

"That... that crook was trying to steal the Devon Goods. He snatched a hostage Pokemon on his way, too."

"Yes," Wil said dryly, "thank you for summing that up. Anything I don't already know?"

"...no," the girl admitted, scooping up the briefcase, the Wingull hovering around her head. "Don't worry, Peeko, we'll get you back to Mr. Briney," she promised the bird as she turned towards the Rustboro entrance to the tunnel.

"Shall we go, Solitude?" Wil jerked his head in the same direction.

"I'm May – May Maple," the girl introduced herself.

"...Wil. Just Wil is fine."

* * *

"Peeko! Am I glad to see you're safe! Peeko owes her life to you!" The speaker was an ageing, bald man with an impressive white beard.

"No trouble at all, sir," May replied sheepishly. "It was the right thing to do. Besides-"

"Peeko and I, we owe you a debt of gratitude!" The old man interrupted her, reaching out and giving her hand a vigorous pumping. "They call me Mr. Briney. And you are?"

"May. May Maple. And I really can't take all the credit for-

"I sincerely thank you, Miss Maple! If there's anything that troubles you, please don't hesitate to tell me! You can find me in my cottage by the sea near Petalburg Woods. Come, Peeko! Let's make our way home!" Mr. Briney called to his Wingull, who took off into the air, flying in lazy circles around the man's head as he set off towards Rustboro City.

"But there was another... never mind," May sighed. "Where did he disappear to, anyway?" Turning, she began to follow Mr. Briney to Rustboro City. "For an old man, he sure moves fast," she pondered, stepping around a tree.

"There you are," she huffed some five minutes later.

Without turning to look at her, Wil called, "Can this wait? I'm kind of in the middle of something here! Solitude, Bulldoze!"

"Granote, Magnitude!"

"Now Sand Tomb, then use Bulldoze again."

In a matter of minutes, the Geodude he was fighting had fainted dead away, and Wil, some $400 richer for the battle, turned to the girl. "What is it? Spit it out, I'd like to be in Rustboro for dinner."

May hesitated, then – "It's only one in the afternoon!"

"I don't doubt your ability to talk for two hours."

"You do know it takes an hour to get to Rustboro from here, don't you?"

"Fine, three hours."

"Are you implying something?" May demanded.

"Hey, I only implied it, lady. You're the one who's proving it correct," Wil pointed out.

"Yes, that reminds me," May frowned at him. "You left me behind at the tunnel entrance."

"Of course I did," Wil shot back, not bothering to ask about the illogic linking _implying something _and _leaving irritating girls behind._ "To wait for you would imply that we're traveling companions. And, let's be fair, here. I don't even know your name."

"I'm May – May Maple! Didn't I introduce myself back in the tunnel?"

"You mean to say, you remember my name from there?" Wil questioned, surprised.

"Of course I do," May snapped back. "It's... uh, Jacob, right?"

A dark look overcame Wil's face. "Return, Solitude," he spoke in a clipped tone. "We're getting out of here." The trainer set a brisk pace, striding towards Rustboro City.

"Hey, wait up!"

In response, Wil increased his pace.

* * *

Rustboro City loomed ahead before May struck pay dirt with an idea to make the other trainer stop. "How many badges do you have?" She called to Wil.

"Two," Wil replied, not bothering to turn to face her.

_Perfect, _May grinned. "I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

"...fine, lady. If you want to get thrashed that badly... when I win, you leave me alone. Two on two." Wil turned to face his opponent, drawing a Pokeball from his belt.

"And if I win, you have to travel with me!" May responded jubilantly.

"What? I hardly know you!" Wil was quite taken aback by her terms. "You can't travel with someone you barely know!"

"Take it as an opportunity to get to know me, then!"

Wil snarled. "Fine. Rephrase: _you_ hardly know _me._ Do you go around offering to travel with everyone? How about I rob your of your wallet in the middle of the night, would that teach you to know better?"

"You wouldn't do that to me," May assured him breezily.

"Says the girl who wants to travel with a guy she _doesn't even know the name of. _Are you an airhead, a ditz, or just stupid?"

"None of them. I'm observant," came the reply.

"What does that even mean, Mayday?"

Ignoring the disparaging nickname, May elaborated, "You stopped the Aqua Grunt in Rusturf Tunnel."

"So?"

"So I know you'll do the right thing," May pressed on, "even though you keep saying the opposite."

"Again, these are the words of the girl who wants to travel with a guy she _doesn't know the name of_."

"Maybe I don't know your name. But I know _you,_" May argued, fire in her eyes. "Horus, let's go!"

"Spiteful, flight!"

Red light flashed across the clearing, and Spiteful the Zubat lazily circled May's Combusken, which stood in a battle-ready stance.

"Horus, use Ember!"

"Pfft. Toxic, Spiteful."

The Zubat, despite its size and physical weakness, was by now quite well-trained. Though it wasn't quite fast enough to dodge Thunderbolts, and would never be fast enough to dodge Shock Waves, an Ember attack was well within its capability to avoid. Spiteful, twirling gracefully in the air, rapidly closed the distance between itself and its opponent, spitting a glob of Toxic Poison at the Combusken. Though Horus nimbly hopped out of the way of the first attack and retaliated with a mouthful of Embers, Spiteful simply wheeled around, flipping easily over the flames, and repeated its Toxic attack.

"This isn't working. Focus Energy, Horus," May called, and the Combusken's outline was bathed in a yellow aura as it tensed its body. "Use Peck if it ever gets close," she continued.

"But Spiteful doesn't _have _to get close," Wil smirked. "Confuse Ray, Spiteful!" With a high-pitched shriek, the Zubat summoned a glowing yellow orb that entranced and confused its opponent before vanishing.

"No... Snap out of it, Horus. Ember!"

As the Combusken whirled around to face his Zubat, spitting flames at its opponent, Wil reflected that it was really quite well-trained, with May's voice cutting through the confusion to reach her Pokemon. _Not experienced enough to score direct hits on Spiteful, though_. Wil smirked, calling, "Circle, Spiteful. It's only a matter of time, now."

Red light flashed onto the battlefield, and a Ralts took the place of the Combusken. "Avalon, use Confusion!"

Spiteful was fast, but it couldn't dodge a psychic pulse that it couldn't sense. Though the glowing rainbow ray of light was clear enough to Wil, the Zubat, with no eyes, simply couldn't tell where the attack was coming from.

The first Confusion missed, due to sheer luck, but the second attack struck home, and Spiteful fell a good distance, crashing woozily to the ground. The Zubat quickly righted itself, but not before another Confusion attack was sent zipping its way, and Wil gestured quickly, recalling it.

"A Psychic-type," Wil noted. "Isn't Ralts a really rare Pokemon?"

"I'm not certain," May admitted sheepishly. "I was travelling between Oldale Town and Petalburg City, and this little one just sort of sidled up to me." Wil fixed the Ralts with a steely gaze, and it shrank away from him.

"Interesting. Echo!" Wil called, and the fluffy bird materialised. "Round!"

"Teleport, then Confusion!"

The Swablu let out a barrage of sound that would have struck the Ralts head-on had it not warped three feet to the left, and the Confusion attack shimmered through the air, missing Echo by a good deal more than three feet.

"Close in, and use Fury Attack," Wil ordered.

"Confusion, then Teleport," came the shouted reply.

"Abort! Left, and Round when it appears," Wil countered.

"Double-Team!"

The Swablu veered to the side, narrowly avoiding the Confusion attack, then whirled around, seeing three different Ralts materialise in three places. Picking a target at random, the Swablu targeted it with a Round, only for the clone to fizzle out of existence on contact, while the real Ralts fired off a Confusion that struck the Swablu in the wing.

"Round, Echo!"

"Teleport, Avalon! No, don't Teleport backwards – Teleport again! Differe- ugh..."

Wil smirked, amused, as the Round attack hit home, and the Ralts staggered from the burst of sound. "Again," he instructed, though this time, the attack missed, as did the retaliatory Confusion.

_The Ralts is young, _Wil surmised. _She's well-trained and deadly, but if I can tire her out, it's curtains._

As the thought crossed his mind, May switched in her Combusken, and Wil swore mentally. "Horus, Ember!" She called.

"Close in and use Peck," Wil instructed.

"Double Kick!"

"Out of there! Round and circle!"

"Close in, Horus, Double Kick!"

"Out, Echo! Don't let it get close!"

Horus the Combusken was nimble – not nearly as fast as Spiteful, but the flaming karate chicken was certainly quicker on its feet than Echo could fly, and it blitzed towards the Swablu, leaping agilely and twisting to deliver two sharp kicks to the cotton bird's face. As the Swablu recoiled, Horus landed easily and sprang once more, unleashing another Double Kick.

Fluttering woozily, Echo was easy prey for an Ember attack.

"Return, Echo," Wil sighed, and Spiteful, injured but still raring to go, burst from its Pokeball, zipping forwards in a stunning display of white light.

White light?

Spiteful, no longer a Zubat, doubled in size as it zipped forwards, evolving into the larger Golbat and slamming into the Combusken with wings spread wide in an impressive Wing Attack.

It would have been a more impressive sight if the Golbat weren't still a third of the size of any other Golbat. It would have been even more impressive if the newly-evolved Golbat hadn't bounced off the Combusken, and Wil sighed, calling, "Pull back, Spiteful," though he fought a grin.

Despite the Golbat's size, Horus the Combusken staggered backwards as it was hit, then collapsed. The Toxic Poison had finally taken its toll on the Fire-type. In its place, the less intimidating Avalon materialised, the Ralts facing down its opponent.

"Confusion, Avalon!"

"Toxic, Spiteful."

The two Pokemon complied with their orders; the Ralts launching a Confusion at the Golbat, which took off, narrowly avoiding the beam of light. It fluttered unsteadily towards its opponent and spat a glob of Toxic poison at it.

"Teleport!"

A glob of Toxic poison which missed. "Left, left!" Wil called, as the Ralts launched another Confusion attack that veered sharply to the right of the Golbat.

Then the unthinkable began to happen – Spiteful, already a newly evolved Golbat, began to glow white _again_. Through the light, Wil could make out the oddly shaped legs of the Golbat morph into scythe-like wings.

Then the evolution was finished, and Spiteful, a Zubat just two minutes ago, twirled majestically in the air, then crashed to the ground. The Crobat took off again, only for a Confusion to hit it spot-on, and it flopped once more to the ground, unconscious.

"Return, Spiteful," Wil called, elated, though he didn't show it, and he drew a small wad of bills from his jacket, which May accepted, grinning easily.

"That was awesome, did you see that, your Zubat just evolved, then she evolved again-"

"May, it was _my_ Zubat. I was right _there,_" Wil deadpanned, waving an arm at where he had stood, though his cheer took the edge off the sarcasm.

"I won, so you have to travel with me, right? Come on, we're going to Rustboro City!"

Wil sighed as his new companion grabbed his arm and skipped off, dragging him behind her for a short distance before stopping suddenly.

"Uh, so... what's your name, again?"

* * *

"Oh, the Goods! You have the Devon Goods!" The speaker was a middle-aged, portly man dressed in a green suit, his yellow-brown hair neatly combed. Privately, Wil thought he resembled a Shroomish, and snickered at his choice of words.

"It was no problem at all, Mr. Loom," May assured him uncomfortably, handing him the briefcase.

"Words cannot express my thanks!" Shrooman pronounced. "Here, I'll give you a Great Ball as a sign of my gratitude!" The aforementioned item was pushed into May's hands, and Wil hid a snicker at the flummoxed expression on her face.

"Come with me," the man gestured, taking May by the hand, "Let's get those Goods back to Devon Corp, shall we?" May shot Wil a pleading glance which he interpreted correctly as 'save me from this weirdo', and – unfortunately for the trainer – Shrooman noticed. "Who's this?"

"That's-"

"Just someone she met on the road," Wil interrupted smoothly. "We battled – she won – and I accompanied her back here. I'll see you at the Pokemon Centre, May."

_"Wil!" _May hissed at him, but the trainer was already gone.

* * *

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Centre! We restore your tired Pokemon to full health," the nurse greeted Wil cheerfully as he deposited three Pokeballs on the counter.

"I hear this line every time," Wil muttered under his breath as the nurse picked up his three Pokeballs and passed them under the healing machine.

Pokemon were fundamentally different from humans, down to a subatomic level. It was this fundamental difference that allowed a Pokeball to break down a Pokemon into its composite energy and store it in such a small device. This difference also allowed the healing machines to function – Wil wasn't sure how, exactly, they worked – something about scanning the Pokemon's data and manipulating the energy? All he knew was that they did work.

An odd look crossed the nurse's face, and she asked, "Is your Crobat all right, trainer?"

"Hm? Why wouldn't it be – oh, right. She's just really small, is all. Spiteful's always been small. Nothing to worry about."

"That's one weight off my mind, at least," the nurse remarked heavily, "but something else is wrong."

Panic flashed across Wil's face, and he demanded, "What is it?"

"Your Crobat is severely exhausted and malnourished, is what it is," the nurse scolded him severely. "Its body is critically short on key compounds and ions, like Iron and Calcium. Have you been feeding her right?"

"Of course," Wil answered, trying to conceal his worry. "What can we do for her, Nurse?"

"You need to let her out and feed her," the nurse replied, still in a chiding tone. "If I'm right, she'll be extremely hungry. This is the sort of exhaustion you'll only see when a Pokemon isn't properly fed when it trains, then forced to evolve. Evolution is very taxing on a Pokemon's body. Honestly," she huffed, drawing the Pokeballs from the healing machine, "I wonder how she liked you enough to evolve into a Crobat when you've been treating her like that."

"Spiteful evolved twice in the span of a few minutes," Wil noted quietly, the situation becoming clear to him. "That might be why. What should I feed her? Is her diet different from when she was a Zubat?"

Understanding passed across the nurse's face as she dialed a number into the phone behind the counter. "Not really," she replied, "but she'll be eating a lot more now that she's a Crobat. Especially so right now. Hello," she spoke into the phone, "this is the Pokemon Centre. Can you deliver a portion of Pokemon food now? Yes, I realise it's three in the afternoon," she huffed. "It's a bit of an emergency. The Pokemon is a Crobat..."

"She likes sweet food," Wil interjected.

"She likes sweet food," the nurse parroted. "Yes, thank you. Bye." With a click, she replaced the phone, then turned to Wil. "Take a seat over there, I'll be right back."

Wil, still worried, perched on the sofa, tapping out a message on his PokeNav. _In Rustboro. Video call you 7:30 later?_

A few moments later, his PokeNav sounded. _Sure, cya =)_

The nurse chose that moment to return, a plastic bowl and a can of Pokemon food in her hands. "Here," she said, setting the bowl on the table and emptying the can into it, "let your Crobat out to eat."

Wil gestured, and the Pokemon Center's lobby became ever so slightly more crowded, with a Crobat sitting on the table, a Trapinch curled up on the floor, and a Swablu nesting on the sofa. "Eat up, Spiteful," he instructed, and the four-winged bat happily lunged at the bowl of food, devouring it quickly and looking up to see if there was any more.

"Your Crobat will be eating more than usual, and more frequently, for a little while," the nurse informed him, "just until her body gets back into shape. Just for today, keep her out of Pokemon battles. It's normal for newly evolved Pokemon to move more slowly and clumsily while they get used to their new forms, but that will wear off quickly."

Wil remained silent, keeping his eyes on the cheerful Spiteful.

"She should be just fine by tomorrow," the nurse assured him. "I daresay you could challenge the gym by mid-morning, if you haven't already. Not that you should be bringing a Flying-type to a Rock Gym.

* * *

"Wil," May greeted him cheerfully, and Wil fixed her with a baleful gaze.

"You got stuck with the Shrooman for three hours," Wil pointed out, and May snickered at his irreverant use of the nickname. "I fail to see how you'd get out of that with a smile."

"Well... it wasn't actually three hours," she admitted. "He kind of introduced me to President Stone. And I got a free PokeNav out of it." The girl beamed, waving a sleek phone at him. "The latest model, too!"

Wil was impressed, though he hid it well – that PokeNav was _expensive_, though he supposed being President Stone meant you could give them away once in a while.

"So, where are you going next?" May questioned.

"I need the badge from Rustboro Gym, first," Wil pointed out, "then after that... Petalburg and Dewford – then the three badges from East Hoenn. What about you?" He asked reluctantly.

"I've a letter to deliver to a guy named Steven in Dewford, and a package bound for Slateport," May recited. "I need the badges from Dewford, Mauville, Lavaridge... the only badge I have is from Rustboro. Also, I'd like to stay in town for a week – participate in the upcoming contest."

"Right away, I'm going to point out a number of problems which you, in your _infinite wisdom_, may have overlooked," Wil began, hoping to dissuade her from following through with her inane plan to travel with him. "To start with, I've already got the badges from Mauville and Lavaridge. Going up that way would be a huge waste for me. Also, no way am I staying a week in Rustboro. I did that already in Lavaridge."

May's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I got it," she grinned after a moment. "You go to Petalburg, first – it's only, like, three days away, and get the Balance Badge. I can meet you there in, say, a week. Then we'll go to Dewford. From there, the easiest way to East Hoenn is up through Slateport and Mauville, then to Fortree or Lilycove." She beamed, obviously pleased with herself for coming up with a neat plan like that. "So you can accompany me up to Mauville. After that, if you want to, we can split." The last sentence was said reluctantly.

"What about the badge from Petalburg?" Wil questioned. "Wouldn't it be easier to get that before going to Dewford? And how is staying a week in Petalburg any better than staying a week in Rustboro?"

"You'll know how much more training you need for the next badge, I guess," May pointed out. "You wouldn't know that if you were here. As for that other thing, well, I went to Petalburg Gym." She shifted uncomfortably, then continued, "Dad wants me to get four other badges before challenging him."

_Someone else with famous relations. _Wil decided not to pry further. "Fine," he muttered, unable to find further fault with May's plan. He _had_ lost that battle, after all. At least he wouldn't be stuck with the cheerful, perceptive girl that was May for the rest of his journey. "I'm going to go get dinner," he huffed.

"Ooh, let me come with you!"

* * *

"Hey, Elsa," Wil greeted his friend.

"Wil," Elsa grinned back. "How are you? Lost to Roxanne yet?"

"I haven't challenged her," Wil admitted. "Need to wait for Spiteful to recover, first."

Worry crossed Elsa's face. "Spiteful? Your Zubat? What happened to her?"

"Nothing much, really. Evolving twice in one battle takes a lot out of a Pokemon." At this, the Crobat burst from its Pokeball, clamoring for attention. And food.

"Oh, you sneak," Elsa laughed, "you had me worried!"

"I was," Wil admitted quietly as he pointed his Pokemon towards a prepared food bowl on a side table. "The nurse told me she was severely exhausted and malnourished. You can imagine how that might feel to me." Perched on his lap, the Crobat chittered thoughtfully, then took off.

"I remember when that bat was a Zubat," Elsa recalled. "It tried to burrow into your jacket when you weren't wearing it – that was, what? A month ago, when you left?"

"She's grown a lot, in a month," Wil noted thoughtfully. "But you know what they say about Pokemon growth." He waved a hand in the air. "It grows super-fast, at first, then it'll level off somewhat, and after, like, a year, it hardly grows at all. That's why first-time League participants can beat people who've been training for years – the senior guys have stronger Pokemon, but not by all that much because of the growth curve, see?"

"I know that," Elsa reminded him. "I was there when you learned it."

"Oops," Wil said, not sounding particularly sorry. "Enough about Mini Crobat and I – anything new happen recently?"

"Not really," Elsa admitted. "I thrashed Marcus in a battle yesterday, though. Our Battling mid-terms – I picked a Sneasel and thrashed him."

"Well, of course. You've been studying Ice-types as your pet project for, like, six years?"

"He used a Houndour."

"Ha!" Wil laughed. "What an idiot. How's the shop?"

"Busy," Elsa admitted. "I still have mid-terms, so I haven't been available to help Dad with the glassmaking. Some idiot just put in an order for, like... five Pretty Desks. Five! What would he do with that?"

"He's probably on a company budget," Wil dismissed. "Still, it means you guys will be swimming in money."

"And work."

"And work," Wil amended.

"Hey, who's that?" May asked, emerging from the staircase.

"I'll call you back, Elsa, bye."

"Huh? Oh, sure... see you."

Wil cut the connection, standing and turning to face his companion. "No one of import," he lied through his teeth.

May furrowed her eyebrows. "You're lying, aren't you?"

"Of course," Wil pointed out, a grin stretched across his face. "I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to assume you'd get me to tell the truth, though."

"I'll get it out of you someday," May swore.

"You're welcome to fail."

* * *

**Enter May Maple. Her Pokemon are named after myth and legends - Horus is an ancient Egyptian god of war (I think it's war, anyway, but we all know about Horus), and Avalon's name comes from Arthurian legend (no, I'm not sure what exactly it is - only that it is. Google is your friend).**

**Next chapter due: 24/02/14. These are getting more and more accurate; things aren't going up three, five days early nowadays. They're always on time, though! Barring, you know, an FFnet error or an internet error.  
**


	11. Tactician

**Remember Matthew? From Chapter 3? Same time we met Elsa? Elsa's been showing up a lot; Matthew hasn't. Kind of sad for a starting rival.**

**Chapter 11: Tactician**

* * *

"Aw, _damn_," Wil groaned as his eyes alighted on a familiar purple shirt. He increased his pace, making his way through the crowds towards the Pokemon Centre doors.

"Wait up, Wil," May called after him, inevitably drawing some attention to the duo. "What are you hurrying for?"

"Of course _Wil _is only hurrying to get away from me_,_" an all-too-familiar voice sneered. "He's afraid I'll wipe his team in a battle."

"No," Wil fired back, "I'm afraid I'll hear your grating voice. Just hearing you talk is the low point of my day." He flipped open his PokeNav, pretending to check the time. "Guess I have enough time to squish you before my Gym battle, though. That'll be my high point," he grinned wickedly.

"Hah! You really think you can beat me?" Matthew Llednar laughed outright.

"I don't need to think it, _Llednar._ I'm outright saying it – you don't stand a chance. Go on back to your playhouse."

"Wil, that's not a very nice thing to say," May chided him.

"I'm not a very nice person," Wil rebutted. Before Matthew could poke fun at the two of them – Wil just _knew_ the trainer was cooking up a crack about girlfriends – he challenged him, "Well, _Llednar_? Up for a thrashing?"

"Yours, _Marche_? Certainly," Matthew grinned a dark grin.

"Time to send you home," Wil snarled, fists clenched.

May sighed. "Can't we all be friends?"

* * *

Apparently the answer was 'no', as Wil and Matthew stalked to opposite ends of the dusty battlefield behind the Pokemon Centre. Low walls surrounded the field on all ends, and a low-ranked and probably underpaid League employee oversaw its usage.

"This is a three-on-three battle with no time limit," May called, having been pressured to referee for them. "Both trainers are permitted to switch their Pokemon. Begin!"

"Echo, flight!"

"Axiom, go!"

"Where did you get a Nidorino?" Wil wondered to himself as the purple Pokemon, non-native to the Hoenn region, materialised on his opponent's side of the field. "Tch, not important. Echo! Circle and Safeguard!"

Singing a cheerful song, the Swablu surrounded itself in a mystical veil that guarded it from debilitating status effects, like the Poison that Matthew's favoured Pokemon type was so capable of inflicting. Though the Nidorino's Poison Sting attack stung, Echo found itself relatively unharmed by the attack.

"Keep out of reach," Wil called to his Swablu, realising that the Nidorino didn't possess any real range. "Sing!"

Evidently Matthew had come to the same conclusion, as he exchanged his Nidorino for a Tentacool, which proceeded to send a high-velocity Bubblebeam at Echo. Squawking in alarm, the Swablu swerved to dodge, cutting off its lullaby.

"Tch. Let's try Round," Wil called, and the Swablu complied, loosing a barrage of sound at its opponent, who, mostly unfazed, retaliated with a Bubblebeam.

Wil frowned in thought, focusing on the stationary Tentacool that sat, mostly immobile, on the battlefield. Some Water Pokemon were capable of movement on land; others had to rely on moves like Surf to move, and Wil doubted that the Tentacool was capable of moving. On the other hand, the Poison-type was a veritable siege turret, even as an unevolved Tentacool – it had taken the Round attack without flinching, and those Bubblebeam attacks looked pretty painful. "Dodge," he instructed Echo, "and use Round again."

"Aqua Ring, Argand!"

The Tentacool paused in its barrage of Bubblebeam attacks to summon a small pool of water around it. Wil wasn't quite certain what that water did, but he was slightly unnerved to see it taking the shape of a perfect circle, almost as though it were held in by invisible walls. He knew enough of the laws of physics to know that water shouldn't be behaving like that.

With the water surrounding it, the Tentacool gained some mobility, and as it swam slowly in one direction, the water unerringly moved with it.

_Say what you will_, Wil thought to himself, _but that is disconcerting._

His inner thoughts were interrupted by a curious chirp, his Swablu fixing him with a questioning gaze, only to become the target of a Bubblebeam attack. To the Pokemon's credit, though, it didn't flinch out of more than panic. _Wow, Echo is tough as nails._

Still, it couldn't afford to take repeated Bubblebeams, and with a practiced movement, Wil recalled his Swablu, switching in his Crobat with his other hand. "Spiteful, flight! Keep that blob busy!"

"Bubblebeam, Argand! Don't let up!"

Arcing red light heralded the appearance of a proud, though still small, Crobat, which flipped gracefully through the air in a deceptively simple-looking barrel roll.

"A Crobat! Damn," Matthew whistled.

"Keep it busy, Spiteful," Wil ordered, one hand reaching into his jacket pocket. As the Tentacool continued to spew Bubblebeams, and the Crobat continued to dodge them, Wil's fingers flashed across his Pokedex.

_Aqua Ring_

_Water, STS_

_Summons a small pool of water around the user that constantly heals it. Pokemon are capable of swimming in the Aqua Ring._

Wil's eyes focused on the part of the sentence that read '_constantly heals it_' and swore mentally. "Confuse Ray, Spiteful," he ordered, and the Crobat launched a swirling light that left its opponent cross-eyed and still spewing Bubblebeams, though these were hardly the focused attacks that they used to be. Rather, the Tentacool's attacks were more random, though still aimed in Spiteful's general direction.

"What are you doing?" May wondered to herself as Wil called for his Crobat to remain on the defensive, focusing on avoiding the Tentacool's steady stream of Bubblebeams rather than going on the attack.

"Stay still," Matthew growled, as his Pokemon, snapping back to its senses launched yet another Bubblebeam, only for Spiteful to twirl gracefully out of the way once again.

"Listening to you only turns out for the worse in every case," Wil called tauntingly across the field. "Don't forget that incident with the cookbook."

Matthew snarled. "You slimy little goose! Bubblebeam, Argand! That thing can't avoid you forever!"

Wil's eyes narrowed at the annoying jellyfish-like Pokemon. "Yes, she can," he informed his opponent.

"Your Crobat will tire eventually," Matthew snarled.

"So will your Tentacool."

As if on command, the Tentacool stopped using Bubblebeam, and Spiteful broke off its stunning display of acrobatics to circle the Tentacool lazily.

Matthew whipped out his own Pokedex – a purple-and-blue model that matched his taste in clothes. "Damn it!" The trainer swore, and Wil grinned gleefully – the Tentacool could still continue fighting, but it was out of Bubblebeams.

It was an odd phenomenon known colloquially among trainers as "Power Points" – repeated use of a move would render a Pokemon unable to continue using that move. A trip to the Pokemon Centre or prolonged time spent outside the Pokeball were proven cures, but none of that mattered in a battle where neither was available. Once the Tentacool was out of Bubblebeams, it was out.

"Tch. Try Acid," Matthew called, now much less cocky than he had been before.

"Swoop," Wil instructed, mentally noting that the Tentacool was out of Water attacks, and the Crobat dived low to the ground to avoid the attack, weak though it may have been.

Red light flashed out, and both Pokemon were recalled. In their place, Echo the Swablu faced off against Matthew's Seviper, and Wil's quick mind immediately began to set up an endgame. _Neither Echo nor Spiteful can really do anything to his Tentacool, but a Bulldoze or two from Solitude should be enough to knock it out, and now that it's out of Bubblebeams, it can't do much to Solitude. His Nidorino can't touch Echo or Spiteful, but Toxic doesn't work on Poison Pokemon, so Spiteful is dead weight in this battle. Quick, but she doesn't have much else going for her..._

A simple, solid plan crystallised in his mind. His hands flashed forwards in a practiced motion, and Spiteful the Crobat emerged from its Pokeball once more, taking Echo's place on the battlefield. With an impressive burst of speed, the Crobat avoided its opponent's sweeping Poison Tail, retaliating with a Confuse Ray attack.

"Retreat and dive," Wil called hurriedly as soon as the confusion took hold of the Seviper. "To me, Spiteful! Now!"

"Still a slippery snake," Matthew snarled. "Bite!"

"Your Seviper is the snake, here," Wil pointed out as Spiteful wheeled away from the Seviper's fangs and swooped low to the ground, approaching him at high speed as red light enveloped it. "Bulldoze, Sol!"

The Trapinch materialised on the battlefield, ready and raring to go. As the Seviper, still cross-eyed, lunged in its direction, Solitude slammed the ground with its forelegs, causing a shockwave to spread across the battlefield. Its opponent flinched as the force wave rippled past it, then resumed its attack, visibly hurt.

Light flashed across the battlefield once more, and Spiteful the Crobat once again twirled out of the way of the Seviper's Bite attack.

"_Damn_ you!" Matthew snarled, as the Crobat swooped towards the ground, unleashing another Confuse Ray as it dove.

"See, _Llednar_, your problem is that you don't have enough brains to figure out how to solve problems," Wil mocked, the same two Pokeballs still in his outstretched hands. "That's not gonna serve you well with this problem. Bulldoze!"

Red light flashed across the battlefield again as Wil switched out his Crobat, and Solitude slammed its front legs into the ground as it materialised. The only thing that saved the Seviper from an ignominious knockout was the beam of red light that enveloped it at the last second.

Solitude backed away from Matthew, who frowned at the Trapinch, shuffling two Pokeballs in his hand. A long moment passed before he selected one and made to throw it.

"Bulldoze on whatever comes out."

The Tentacool, materialising on the battlefield, shuddered painfully as the Ground-type attack rippled past it, and a second Bulldoze knocked it clean out before it could launch a single attack.

"Tentacool is unable to battle," May announced.

"Axiom," Matthew called, picking out a Pokeball, "Fury Attack!"

"Bulldoze. As soon as it appears."

The super-effective Bulldoze made contact easily with the Nidorino, though it shook off the attack and charged, intent on making good on its trainer's command. It never got the chance, as Wil switched in his Crobat, which ascended far out of reach of the grounded Nidorino.

"Stop that," Matthew hissed, as Spiteful's Confuse Ray circled the Nidorino's head, confusing the Pokemon.

"Why fix what isn't broken?" Wil smirked. "Down, girl." With that, the Crobat descended rapidly, and as it approached the ground, Wil switched in his Trapinch and called for a Bulldoze, knocking out the Nidorino.

Once more, Matthew sent out his Seviper, angry and frustrated. "Scalar! Bite!"

"Oops," Wil grinned innocently as he once again exchanged Solitude for Spiteful, the agile bat flitting easily out of the way of the Seviper's fangs. "You really need to start thinking of ways to beat this, _Llednar,_" Wil pointed out as his Crobat once more launched a Confuse Ray. "Otherwise, I'll just _bulldoze_ you every time. Dive, Spiteful," he instructed, the Crobat dropping in a controlled fall.

As it approached the ground, Wil switched in Solitude and finished the battle with one final Bulldoze attack.

* * *

The Lavaridge Gym was constructed from wooden panels, and the Mauville Gym shimmered with gold and yellow bricks. Both of them had been unique in their own ways, and both stood out from the rest of the town.

The Rustboro Gym, on the other hand, blended in with the concrete greys of Rustboro City. A little too well, Wil reflected – the Gym looked like a hulking slab of concrete with windows cut from the walls. Even the door was painted grey.

_Wait. The windows – _indeed, a single glance at the windows revealed that the concrete was, incredibly, some two feet thick. The building would probably stand up to earthquakes, natural disasters, and legendary Pokemon attack.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go in, already!"

"For a moment there, I forgot I was travelling with you, and now it's back to cold, dark reality," Wil deadpanned.

"Pfft," May chuckled. "Reality is bright and full of sunshine! Now go on, Gym battle!"

"Don't you have Contest preparations to- hold on one second, April-May-June, since when did I say you could push me around like that?"

"Silly Wil, of course you did! Yesterday. And the contest isn't for a week, I have time." May proceeded to push her companion, who protested loudly but otherwise didn't resist, into the concrete gym.

The Rustboro Gym's foyer, in stark contrast to the Gym's outward appearance, was tiled with smooth marble, with the counter on the far end of the room constructed from a similar material. Placed in the center of the room was a smooth stone table surrounded by matching chairs that didn't look particularly comfortable. In fact, the only difference between the Gym's foyer and the foyer of any three-star hotel was the bored look on the receptionist's face – _no, wait,_ Wil revised, _there's no difference._

The receptionist, a young man dressed in browns, looked up. "Welcome to the Rustboro City Gym," he rattled off in a bored monotone. "How many- no, wait, you were in here three days ago, girl. What about your boyfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Wil protested.

"He has two badges," May replied obliviously – no, wait, what was that glimmer in the corner of her eye?

"I'll get you back," Wil hissed at her.

The receptionist was already dialing three quick numbers into his phone. "Marc, Josh, get out here. Trainer... it's his third badge." Turning to the duo, he gestured, "Battlefield is through that door. Go and wait."

* * *

"Well, because Thomas is a lazy slob, I'm reffing for Marc, and Marc will ref for me," one of the gym trainers explained as he took the place of the referee, standing by the side of the plain, concrete battlefield that was marked by white paint.

"Yeah, seriously," Marc, whose portly figure and T-shirt gave him the appearance of a lazy slob, groaned from opposite the battlefield, "He's supposed to ref. But he's the lieutenant, so he gets perks."

"What do you mean, he's the lieutenant?" Wil wondered.

"The lieutenant... is basically second-in-command of the Gym," the first gym trainer explained, "but not all Gyms have them. Basically, if the Gym Leader wants one, she just picks one from her current batch of Gym Trainers. It's normally a position that goes to a good battler who's been a Gym trainer for a while and is likely to stay on for a while more. If the Leader is absent and she allows it, challengers can fight the lieutenant for a badge, but generally that doesn't happen."

In a flash, the two whining Gym trainers transformed from complaining, immature children into the picture of professionalism. Wil almost missed the subtle change in posture, but when the current referee began to speak, the difference was obvious in the tone of his voice.

"This is a two-on-two battle between Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town and Marc of Rustboro Gym! Only the challenger is permitted to switch Pokemon. Begin!"

"Kelinemos, go."

"Solitude, forwards."

Solitude the Trapinch materialised in front of the oddly-named Slugma, and Wil mentally congratulated himself on the favourable match-up. "Bulldoze," he instructed.

"Ember, 'Nemos."

"Defensive Sand Tomb," Wil countered.

"Iron Defense."

The exchanges happened in a matter of seconds. Both Pokemon aborted their first commands, and a Sand Tomb sprouting from the ground between the Trapinch and its opponent. In response, the Slugma focused, and Wil saw a metallic sheen pass over the Slugma's body.

A half-second passed before the next set of commands were issued, this time with the Gym Trainer going first.

"Rock Slide, Kelinemos."

"Faint Attack and offensive Sand Tomb, Sol."

"Behind you!"

"Quick Attack to the left!"

The Slugma twisted, sending a barrage of rocks at the Trapinch which materialised behind it, only for the rocks to miss their target. A Sand Tomb erupted from beneath the Slugma, beginning to drain its health, and the Trapinch's follow-up Bulldoze caused a visible flinch in the Slugma despite its boosted Defense.

"Bulldoze again!"

"Iron Defense," the Gym trainer instructed, and the metallic sheen passed over Slugma's body once more, shielding it from the Solitude's second Bulldoze.

"Again!"

"Recover, Kelinemos; then another Iron Defense."

"Abort," Wil called, his hands motioning forwards. "Spiteful, flight! Toxic!"

"No, dodge it-"

The Crobat burst from its Pokeball in a brilliant display of acrobatics, launching a glob of Toxic poison that the slow Slugma had no chance of dodging.

"Rock Slide!"

"Spiteful, dive! Solitude, Quick Attack on release! Straight ahead into Faint Attack! Now!"

Panicked, Wil's hands flashed forwards just before the Crobat's diving arc would cause it to hit the floor, and Solitude materialised where Spiteful had been, rushing forwards in a Quick Attack. Just before the first rock made contact with the Pokemon, it vanished, reappearing behind the Slugma, only to take a mouthful of Embers to the face.

Snarling, the Trapinch retaliated with a Bulldoze attack that, after three Iron Defenses, didn't particularly faze the Slugma, though Wil saw it shudder in pain.

"Ember, Kelinemos."

"To me, Spiteful, then dive!" Red light exchanged the Trapinch for a speedy Crobat that launched itself forwards over the flames and the Slugma before swooping low to the ground.

"Rock Slide!"

"Sol! Faint Attack – Bulldoze! Go!"

Solitude took the field once more, appearing first in front of Wil, then disappearing as its opponent slung a Rock Slide at it, missing cleanly. Now behind the Slugma, Solitude's Bulldoze rippled cleanly through the Pokemon, visibly hurting it.

Marc's eyes flashed. "Recover, Kelinemos."

"Switch out – Spiteful, Confuse Ray!" Wil switched his two Pokemon with practiced ease, and the Crobat ascended into the air, the ball of light it left in its place twirling drunkenly and confusing the Slugma, though not quickly enough to prevent the Slugma from recovering.

"You're toast, Marc," the referee laughed, as Wil once again switched in his Trapinch, taking advantage of the confusion to let off a couple of Bulldoze attacks. Between the building poison in the Slugma's system and the repeated attacks it was forced to weather, the Slugma was weakening slowly, but surely, and a final Bulldoze caused it to faint.

"Slugma is unable to battle!"

"You go, Wil!" May cheered from the sidelines.

"You're very fast with your hands," Marc complimented Wil as he recalled his Slugma. "Nodos! Head Smash!"

Nodos turned out to be an unassuming-looking Aron that charged with remarkable speed at the Trapinch it was facing.

"Spiteful, flight! Confuse Ray – oh, skies, dive! Dive!" Wil's eyes met Marc's; the Gym trainer's eyes glimmered in triumph.

"Rock Slide, Nodos!"

Quicker than he'd expected, the Aron skidded to a stop and launched a Rock Slide attack, the boulders crystallising into being far above the Steel-type's head and collapsing towards the Crobat.

Spiteful squeaked, panicked, as it twisted in midair, flipping around one rock and ghosting past another. A powerful flap of its wings brought it above a third as it flipped in midair, rushing towards the ground, only for a fourth rock to crash into the bat. From there, the rest of the barrage collapsed on it, and when the rocks dissolved into nothing once more, it was clear that Spiteful had been knocked out.

"Crobat is unable to battle," the announcer called.

Wil's eyes hardened as he recalled the fainted Crobat, his mind still on the Rock Slide. "Solitude," he clipped out after a few moments, his hand snapping forwards, "Bulldoze."

The Trapinch materialised on the concrete battlefield, ready and raring to go, and the wave of energy rippled across the field, knocking the Aron back as it passed and injuring it heavily. A second Bulldoze, and the Aron fainted.

"Aron is unable to battle. Victory goes to Challenger Wil, of Fallabor Town! Why don't you take a five minute break?" Just like that, the referee had gone from professional to casual.

Wil didn't bother to reply, stepping off the battlefield and collapsing onto the spectator's bench beside May.

"You shouldn't have switched out your Trapinch," she informed him. "Bulldoze would have stopped that Aron cold; Sturdy only protects it once."

"They say hindsight is 20/20," Wil spoke. "For example, the fact that I _knew that already_ might have escaped you when you opened your mouth. But hey," he grinned sarcastically, spreading his arms. "Hindsight." Abruptly he stood, addressing the former referee. "Let's start the other battle."

* * *

"This is a two-on-two battle between Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town and Josh of Rustboro Gym! Only the challenger is permitted to switch Pokemon. Begin!"

"Go, Orili!"

"Solitude."

"Man, you're toast, Josh."

"Shut up, Marc. Orili, Stealth Rock."

"Bulldoze, Solitude."

The exchange occurred in a matter of seconds; Orili, a Geodude, slammed its hands into the ground, and pointed stones emerged from it, hovering for a moment only to sink back in seconds later. Meanwhile, Solitude launched a super-effective Bulldoze attack that rippled past the Geodude, and the Rock-type flinched noticeably.

Wil wasn't quite certain what Stealth Rock did, but it couldn't be anything good. "Again, Solitude," he instructed, and the Trapinch launched another Bulldoze attack that left the Geodude reeling.

"Man, he's steamrolling you," Marc snickered.

"Shut up, Marc. Orili-"

"Bulldoze," Wil cut him off, and the Geodude fainted from Solitude's third attack.

"See?" Marc grinned at Josh, who groaned.

"Shut up. Osund," Josh called as he switched his fainted Geodude for an Anorith, "Water Gun."

"Faint Attack, Solitude," Wil called in response, "then Sand Tomb."

"Behind you!"

"Quick Attack – dodge it," Wil instructed, and the Trapinch ducked to the left, narrowly avoiding the spray of the Water Gun attack.

"Keep at it," the Gym trainer grinned.

"Time to switch," Wil muttered. "Echo, flight!"

Red light shimmered across the battlefield, and Echo the Swablu took to the sky, chased by sharp, pointy rocks and an Anorith's Water Gun.

Wait, what?

The Swablu cried out in alarm as a cluster of sharp stones broke free from the concrete battlefield and rushed into the air, homing in on the cotton bird and leaving it marked by gashes. Wil cast a panicked glance at his smug-faced opponent, who grinned, "Rock Slide."

"Land," Wil ordered harshly, Solitude's Pokeball already in his hand, and as he motioned with his hands, switching out his Swablu, the trainer ordered, "Sand Tomb." The Trapinch appeared, taking the Rock Slide attack with apparent difficulty, and those irritating pointy stones resurfaced, striking again at his Pokemon, though the Trapinch's tough skin was far more resilient to the rocks than its birdlike companion's. As the Rock Slide dissolved into nothingness again, a Sand Tomb attack erupted from beneath the Anorith.

"Water Gun, Osund," the Gym Trainer called.

"Defensive Sand Tomb," Wil countered, and the wall of sand sprang into being between the Trapinch and its opponent, shielding the antlike Pokemon easily from the spray of water.

No longer harried by the Sand Tomb that used to swirl around it, Osund the Anorith began to scuttle around the sandy barrier that prevented it from using Water Gun.

"Bulldoze."

The shockwave rippled out from beneath Solitude, and the Anorith flinched as the energy passed under it. Its movement slowed noticeably as a second Bulldoze rippled past it, and the third knocked it unconscious.

"Anorith is unable to battle! Victory goes to Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town!"

With that proclamation, the two Rustboro Gym trainers shed any pretense of formality, dropping back into their casual personas.

"You wanna fight Roxanne now, or wait till later?" Marc questioned.

"Later," Wil replied without hesitation. "Just after lunch is good. Say... one in the afternoon?"

"We'll pencil you in," Josh replied.

* * *

"That was an awesome battle," May grinned at her companion as they settled into an off-the-wall cafe tucked into a corner.

"If you say so," Wil replied a little indulgently as he browsed the menu.

"No, but seriously, you just decimated his Geodude without giving it a chance to do anything! And – okay – you had a bit of trouble with his Anorith at first, but once that Sand Tomb came up, it didn't have a chance! Are you listening to me?"

"If you say so," Wil said, setting down the menu and drawing his PokeNav from his jacket, typing out a quick text. _Battling Roxanne later_ – "Ow! What was that for?" – _1pm after lunch._

"For not listening to me," May huffed. "It's polite to listen to someone who's talking, you know."

"And since when was I polite?" Wil countered, his hands now flicking through Pokedex entries. "Well, that explains a lot..."

_Stealth Rock_

_Rock, STS_

_Traps the battlefield with pointed stones. Whenever the opponent switches in a new Pokemon, the stones attack, dealing damage to the switch-in. The weaker a Pokemon is to Rock attacks, the more damage dealt._

"That seems like a very useful move," Wil commented to himself.

"Mmmyeah," May agreed from over his shoulder, causing the dark-clad trainer to jump from his seat, his shoulder colliding with her chin on the way up. "Ow! Watch it," May exclaimed, her tone admonishing.

"Well, if you didn't sneak up on me like that, I wouldn't accidentally hit you when I jump in surprise!"

"You're supposed to know your surroundings," May pouted.

"And you're supposed to be sitting there," Wil gestured to the seat opposite him. "Have you even decided what you want to get?"

"Of course I have!"

"Is that so," Wil deadpanned. At the sheepish expression on May's face, he sighed, collapsing back in his chair. "Didn't think so. Hey, waiter," he called, "I want this thing. I don't know how you pronounce it, but it looks good. "

"Really?" May perked up slightly. "I want some of that, too, then." She ignored the exasperated expression Wil shot in her direction.

His PokeNav chose that moment to sound – _I'll be watching =)_

_Just don't skip class to watch._

"Say, who are you texting?"

"No one," Wil replied, his eyes quickly scanning her reply – _Mr Mond wont miss me anyway, the class is doing a project on battles ^.^ –_ before he tucked his PokeNav into his jacket.

* * *

_"Is that so?"_

_"Yep, he's not bad. His main strategy seems to be using Flying-types to create opportunities to switch in his Trapinch. He'll then attack with strong Ground-type attacks."_

_"Third badge, you say?"_

_"Mmhmm."_

* * *

"This is a three-on-three battle between Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town and Leader Roxanne of Rustboro Gym! Only the challenger is permitted to switch Pokemon." The referee announced. It was neither Marc not Josh, but Wil wasn't paying too much attention to the referee. Instead, his eyes were on the battlefield – Roxanne had led him and May to a slightly uneven dirt battlefield, rather than the concrete battlefield they had used before.

"You go, Wil!" May cheered from the spectator's bench.

"Begin!"

"Spiteful, flight!"

"Morien," Roxanne opened, "Ingrain."

"Toxic," Wil countered, and his Crobat, flying lazy circles around Roxanne's Lileep, casually spat a glob of Toxic poison into the Pokemon's face as it put down roots. Immediately, Wil's Pokedex was in his hands, his fingers flying across its screen.

_Ingrain_

_Grass, STS_

_User puts down roots to absorb nutrients. Prevents the Pokemon from moving, but restores health periodically._

"Morien, Stealth Rock!"

"Confuse Ray, Spiteful."

"Close your eyes, Morien," Roxanne instructed calmly.

"That works?" Wil groaned aloud as the Crobat's Confuse Ray, swirling around the Lileep's head, didn't confuse it at all as it trapped the battlefield.

"Of course," Roxanne replied with only a hint of smugness. "Rock Slide, Morien."

_Time to take a risk,_ Wil thought to himself, recalling Spiteful's unfortunate run-in with the previous Gym Trainer's Rock Slide. "Up, Spiteful," he instructed, his calm tone carrying a panicked undercurrent. "Dodge it."

He watched with bated breath as the Crobat accelerated towards the crystallising rocks that, all too soon, came crashing down towards it. Left – right – a quick twirl around a third rock – dive to avoid a fourth – barrel roll – and Spiteful emerged from the barrage of rocks, twisting at the apex of its flight and diving down towards its immobile opponent.

"Confuse Ray!"

"No – close your eyes, Morien, and Rock Slide."

"Supersonic," Wil amended as the Crobat accelerated, screeching out a Supersonic at point-blank range into the Lileep's face. The lily-like Pokemon swayed as its opponent sped past, the Crobat proceeding to ascend with quick flaps of its wings, then pulling out into a lazy circle.

"Rock Slide, Morien," Roxanne's no-nonsense tone cut through the Lileep's confusion, and though it remained cross-eyed, rocks shimmered into being above its head.

"You can dodge it?" Wil questioned, and at Spiteful's affirmative cry, he motioned with his hand. "Go for it." And the Crobat twirled and flipped acrobatically, cresting the wave of rocks with a triumphant cry.

"Recover," Roxanne instructed her Pokemon, all too aware of the Toxic building up in its system, and with a muted cry, the Lileep snapped out of its confusion and forced its body to heal.

Wil waved a hand, and Spiteful the Crobat began to make lazy laps around the arena, much to his opponent's irritation.

"Rock Slide," the Gym leader spoke, her voice precise and calculating.

"Avoid, descend and close," Wil ordered, swiping a hand through the air, and the Crobat followed his instructions as they left his mouth. "Supersonic – point blank."

Another wave of his hand, and Spiteful once more began to circle the arena as the Lileep flopped over, confused.

"Rock Slide," Roxanne instructed, but the attack never came. Instead, the Lileep tilted its head slightly at its trainer, and the Crobat, with a flap of its wings, ascended slightly before continuing its lazy loops.

"Whoops," Wil commented, and Roxanne's eyes narrowed.

"Recover."

"Distract it," Wil called, and Spiteful swooped down into the Lileep's face, hovering as it made a scary face. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have worked on a trained Gym Pokemon like the Lileep, but the Grass-type Pokemon, confused, fell for the distraction and swung its head at the Crobat, which nimbly dodged out of the way.

"Again – Recover," Roxanne called, a hint of desperation creeping into her tone.

"Confuse Ray," Wil countered, and the shining yellow light swirled around the Lileep, which tracked its movement, cross-eyed, for a few short moments before it collapsed, the poison finally taking its toll.

"Return, Morien," the Gym leader called, and red light exchanged the Lileep for a Lunatone, hovering a few feet off the ground. "Cerrejon, Confusion."

"Switch out, Spiteful," Wil called, unwilling to risk his Crobat against a Psychic-type. "Solitude, Faint Attack."

As the Trapinch emerged from its Pokeball, the Stealth Rock trap emerged from the ground, homing in on Solitude and leaving scratches on its skin. Unperturbed, the Pokemon launched a Faint Attack, easily avoiding the Lunatone's psychic wave and retaliating with a tough, super-effective tackle that knocked the Lunatone to the floor, though it quickly righted itself and targeted the Trapinch with another psychic blast.

Wil winced as the ray of rainbow light struck his Trapinch head-on. "Try another Faint Attack," he instructed as the Trapinch righted itself.

"Behind you," came the response, and twisting in midair, the Lunatone targeted Solitude with a pinpoint-accurate Confusion.

Wil's eyes narrowed at the Psychic-type, frustrated. A single second passed as his mind whirred, then –

"Confusion."

"Switch out, Sol – Echo, Sing!"

"Rock Tomb, Cerrejon."

It didn't matter how quickly Wil could switch in his Pokemon – and, by now, he could do it very quickly – or how quickly the Swablu began to sing; the Lunatone was well-trained and already on the field. As Echo emerged from its Pokeball, already trilling the first note, it was buried in a Rock Tomb. As the rocks dissolved, sharp stones homed in on the Swablu, leaving lacerations on its skin, and the bird Pokemon cried out in pain. A second Rock Tomb attack, and the Swablu was left fluttering weakly. A third one, and it collapsed.

"Swablu is unable to battle," the referee announced, and Wil, eyes narrowed, recalled the Pokemon, shuffling his Pokeballs in his hand. He already knew that Solitude couldn't take the Lunatone head-on, and Echo, obviously, was no longer an option.

"Spiteful, flight," Wil called, the Crobat emerging from its Pokeball once more. Again, the sharp stones rushed towards the Crobat, leaving lacerations on its skin, but the Pokemon ignored them, dodging out of the way of a Rock Tomb and retaliating with a highly accurate Toxic from range that splashed onto the Lunatone's nose.

"Confusion," Roxanne instructed.

"Dodge and Confuse Ray," Wil countered, fully aware that a single hit from any of the Lunatone's attacks would result in a knockout. He'd just have to trust in the blistering speed of his Pokemon, currently twirling past the thin ray of rainbow light and retaliating with its own orb of yellow light. The Confuse Ray swirled around the Lunatone, which reflexively closed its eyes.

"Stay on the defensive," Wil instructed as Roxanne called for a Rock Tomb. "One hit, and you're out. Confuse Ray – Supersonic!"

"Rock Tomb in front of you, Cerrejon."

"Belay that order; approach from behind and Confuse Ray."

"Confusion!"

Spiteful called an affirmative cry, pulling out from a dive into a rapid arc that brought it behind its opponent, loosing a Confuse Ray as it strafed the Rock-type. The Lunatone's eyes followed the glimmering orb of light, but it still loosed the Confusion, the ray of psychic energy striking the wall.

"Just a couple of minutes, Spiteful," Wil muttered audibly as his Crobat spun to avoid a second Confusion. "Just a couple of minutes of your best- aw, damn it," the trainer swore audibly as Roxanne's Lunatone launched a precise, lucky Rock Tomb in Spiteful's flight path. Though the attack didn't bury its target as it was supposed to do, the Crobat crashed into the rocks before they dissolved, leaving it open for a deadly Confusion.

_It's still confused,_ the rational part of Wil's brain noted as he clenched his fists, eyes scanning the battlefield – though what he expected to see, he didn't know.

"Challenger Wil, please send out your Pokemon," the referee spoke.

"Solitude."

The Trapinch materalised on the battlefield opposite the Lunatone, ignoring the Stealth Rocks that homed in on it, leaving lacerations on its body. One tired Pokemon against a Lunatone which had beat it easily earlier, and a fully healthy third Pokemon who was likely the Gym Leader's signature Pokemon – and therefore likely to be the strongest on her current team of three.

_It's still confused._

"Faint Attack."

"Confusion – behind you."

The Lunatone executed a familiar manoeuvre, spinning around in midair and unleashing a Confusion attack, targeted at the Trapinch that lunged towards it – and missing by mere inches. The super-effective Faint Attack knocked it crashing to the floor, and the Lunatone didn't move.

"Lunatone is unable to battle!"

"One down, one to go," Wil remarked heavily to himself, ignoring May's cheers from the sidelines.

"Asturias."

Asturias turned out to be a Probopass – a large, metal nose that, to Wil, resembled a tractor with eyes. _Key word in that description being metal. In a Rock Gym. That means extremely weak to Ground attacks. This may not be so hopeless after all._ "Bulldoze, Solitude."

"Magnet Rise."

_Oh, come on._

"Belay that – Faint Attack," he frowned, his mind whirring. Probopass weren't known for their offensive capabilities, but they were more than capable defensive behemoths. Faint Attack wasn't going to put so much as a dent in the metal. It would, however, prevent the Pokemon from triggering its Sturdy ability that safeguarded it from one-hit KOs.

Not that the Trapinch was capable of that. He doubted even a Flygon's Earthquake would knock out the Probopass in one hit.

"Asturias, Magnet Bomb."

_This battle just keeps getting better and better. _"Quick Attack to the left," Wil ordered, and the Trapinch ducked out of the trajectory of the Magnet Bomb projectile.

Well, at least it would have, if the bomb followed a straight path. Instead, the glimmering projectile swerved towards his Trapinch and detonated with a silvery explosion.

_One or two more of those and Solitude is out – and the stupid things home in on him! _

"Again – Magnet Bomb."

"Defensive Sand Tomb," Wil called his Pokemon's fourth move, now grasping at straws.

Surprisingly – incredibly – the hairbrained strategy worked; the Magnet Bomb projectile detonated against the swirling sand, and Roxanne paused, evidently considering her options.

"Rock Blast," she instructed after a moment's hesitation, and the projectile attack blasted through the Sand Tomb. The first rock scored a glancing blow, quickly followed by two more that missed entirely.

"Again, Asturias."

"Quick Attack right!"

The Trapinch darted to the right, avoiding the two rocks that blasted through its Sand Tomb shield, only to turn towards the Probopass, seeing it prepare a silvery projectile.

"Go back," Wil instructed, keeping his eyes focused on the shuddering Probopass and his ears tuned to Roxanne's instructions, and the Magnet Bomb exploded against the Sand Tomb once more.

"I can do this all day, challenger," Roxanne informed him. "Asturias, Rock Blast."

"Quick Attack left," he responded reflexively, and the Trapinch darted out from behind its makeshift shield, five solid stones impacting the area around where it used to be.

_Wait. The Probopass is shuddering._

As Wil registered the observation, the Pokemon's shuddering became twice as pronounced before it dropped to the field once more.

"Bulldoze!" Wil called instantly.

"Magnet Rise," Roxanne countered calmly, and her Probopass levitated into the air just as the shockwave from Trapinch's Bulldoze rippled under it. A single second earlier, and the Probopass would have taken a solid hit.

_How long did that take?_

"Magnet Bomb, Asturias."

"Behind the Sand To- great skies," Wil swore, realising that the Sand Tomb had dissipated. "Defensive Sand Tomb!"

Just in time, the Trapinch raised its makeshift shield, the silver projectile detonating against the sand in what was by now a routine occurrence.

Wil was very aware that he was at a severe disadvantage. The Probopass was still healthy and capable of continuing, but Solitude was covered in scratches and had taken a fair number of direct hits – first from Lunatone's Confusion, then from Probopass' first Magnet Bomb, and it was obviously tiring.

_Just a little longer,_ Wil pleaded mentally as he instructed his Pokemon to dodge a Rock Blast, then duck back behind the Sand Tomb for cover from a Magnet Bomb. He was fully aware that the last time he had made the plea, it hadn't worked.

Rock Blast – Magnet Bomb – Rock Blast again-

_There._ "Close and defensive Sand Tomb."

"Magnet Bomb, Asturias."

"Wait for it," Wil muttered as the Trapinch raised a Sand Tomb again, shielding it from the Magnet Bomb. "Hang in there, we're good- Quick Attack left, Sol. Take cover, back behind the Sand Tomb... just a little longer..."

_Wait for it..._

The shuddering Probopass launched another Rock Blast that punched through the Sand Tomb, but Solitude had already ducked out of the way. The Trapinch was panting – Wil needed to end the battle, or it would collapse from exhaustion.

_Now._

"Bulldoze!"

Right on time, the Probopass shuddered, clanking to the ground, just in time to take a Bulldoze that left it reeling.

"Magnet Rise, Asturias."

"No – Quick Attack! Get on the Probopass!"

The Rock-typed Pokemon shuddered, but as it began to levitate, the Trapinch lunged at it and jumped onto the Probopass, scrabbling onto its red metal hat.

Roxanne paused, evidently trying to figure out how to hit the Trapinch as it balanced precariously on her Pokemon. "Tilt," she eventually instructed, a moment later.

"Oh, no, you don't. Bulldoze."

The Probopass grunted painfully as Solitude reared up and slammed its forelegs down onto the Pokemon's head. A second Bulldoze to the head, and it spun in midair, toppling the Trapinch to the ground, but as the ant-like Pokemon slowly righted itself, the Probopass continued to spin gently in midair.

Silence reigned for a moment, then-

"Probopass is unable to battle. Victory goes to Challenger Wil of Fallabor Town!"

May squealed – actually _squealed_ – in excitement, leaping from her seat.

A smile spread slowly over Wil's face as his eyes met the tired, exhausted, _victorious_ eyes of his Pokemon. "Well done, Solitude," he said quietly, and though he knew the Trapinch couldn't hear him over May's cheers, Wil saw a glimmer of understanding in the Pokemon's eyes.

Wil didn't really understand his Trapinch, but it felt as though he had taken a crucial first step.

"Return, Asturias," Roxanne spoke, recalling her fainted Pokemon, then crossed the battlefield towards Wil. "That was a well-fought battle," she complemented.

"Thank you," Wil replied, still slightly lightheaded from his victory. "Return, Solitude."

The two trainers stood in silence for a few moments, before Roxanne prompted, "Your trainer card."

"Oh- oops..."

* * *

**Matthew Llednar totally has that Mathematics theme going on for his Pokemon. _Argand_ is a reference to the Argand diagram, used in complex numbers; an _axiom_ is a "premise or starting point of reasoning; a self-evident principle," which admittedly isn't exclusive to maths, but it's often used there. Of course, a _scalar_ quantity is one with... quantity, but no direction. Roxanne's Pokemon names are taken from the Wikipedia page on... I think it's "locations of coal mines". The Gym Trainers had their Pokemon names generated by a fantasy name generator (I use the one at Rinkworks - google it if you want).**

**Next Chapter due: 01/03/2014  
**


	12. Strength

**Not often I'm busy for so many days just before (and on) my given date, which is why this is going up a little late.  
**

**Chapter 12: Strength**

* * *

_"Ohmygosh that was an awesome battle-"_

"I know, May," Wil cut her off as they exited the Rustboro Gym, though he didn't do anything to stop her bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I was there. I was in the _middle_ of the battle. Excuse me for a minute, please," he said, reaching into his jacket's inner pocket.

"Where are you going?" May questioned, pouting.

"Just gotta take this call," Wil answered, waving his ringing PokeNav at her. "See you at the Pokecentre in, say, an hour?" He waited just long enough to hear an affirmative reply before flipping open his PokeNav.

"Hey, Elsa."

"Congratulations on your win, Wil," Elsa spoke demurely.

"Oh, please, we've been friends for how long? Drop the act."

He heard her draw a long breath, and, thus forewarned, held his phone an arm's length from his ear. Even at that distance, Elsa's excited shriek was audible through the phone, and Wil winced at the thought of having that by his ear.

"Scream a little louder, they haven't heard you in Sinnoh yet," Wil muttered into the phone as the noise died down.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Elsa answered brightly, not sounding at all _sorry_. "But seriously, that was great!" She began to rattle off a few of the more technical points of the battle, then, "Do you mind if we analyse your battle? See, we're supposed to go find a mid-level battle and analyse it for a Battling project. I may have mentioned this before-"

"Sure, sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks!" His friend's voice was bright over the phone; she sounded just as high on his victory as May was and was probably grinning that bright grin of hers.

"What, you thought I'd say no?" Wil teased lightheartedly.

"You never know, with you," Elsa retorted. "I'd love to chat some more, but I've got to go – got class in two minutes. Later!"

"Alright," Wil relented, snapping shut his PokeNav.

"Who was that?" May asked from behind him, and Wil started, nearly dropping the device in his hands.

"Waugh! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?"

"Of course," May answered blithely. "So, who was it? Was it a girl? Was it your girlfriend?"

"Actually, you know what, I'm going to go to the Pokemon Centre," Wil decided, turning abruptly. "Faster I get there, the faster I can ditch you."

"Silly Wil," May chuckled. "You can't ditch me, you have to travel with me, remember?"

"And what's stopping me from leaving you behind?" Wil questioned. "It certainly isn't the fact that you beat me in a battle yesterday."

"Of course it is."

"And since when does anyone actually keep their word?"

"You do," May answered brightly, with clear confidence. "Hey, where are you going? Wait up!"

* * *

"That was mean," May pouted as she relaxed on one of the Pokemon Center's lounge chairs.

Wil didn't bother to answer her, instead taking a sip from the drink in his hand.

"You can't just leave people behind like that," May tried again. "We're travelling partners, remember?"

"Unwilling travelling partners," Wil reminded her. "Which reminds me, didn't you say I could travel to Petalburg and wait for you there? It's bound to be better than wasting away here in Rustboro.

"I have a contest in a week," May pointed out. "You should stay to watch it!"

"Last time I watched a contest, I fell asleep," Wil reminded her. "I could be on the road, training, and instead, you want me to wait a week to watch a contest?"

May's bright grin was his only answer.

"Trainer Wil Marche, your Pokemon are ready," an announcement came over the Pokemon Centre's PA system.

"And that's my cue," Wil noted, pushing himself to his feet and crushing his now-empty can in his hand. "I'll see you in Petalburg." Truth be told, he was only leaving for Petalburg the next morning, but it wasn't as though May needed to know that. He'd have more than enough of her in a week, anyway.

"Nuh-uh," May admonished. "It's three in the afternoon, there's no point leaving so late. Stay the night."

Not for the last time, Wil cursed his companion's perceptiveness, usually well-hidden under her bubbly persona.

* * *

Three flashes of light, and Wil's room at the Pokemon Centre became that much more crowded, with his Trapinch beside him on his bed, his Swablu perching on the bed's headboard, and his Crobat sitting on the desk in the room.

"We set off for Petalburg tomorrow morning," he informed the three Pokemon, his eyes hovering between Spiteful and Echo. Solitude, resting beside him, understood instantly, a crooked grin crossing the Pokemon's face.

Dead silence reigned for a few moments before Echo tweeted an affirmation, tilting its head slightly. A few more moments passed, then Wil gave up, groaning, "Neither of you get it? We _won,_ that's why we're leaving."

Immediately the room was filled with the sound of cheering – at least as much as two Pokemon could raise a cacophony, and Solitude straightened slightly, basking in the praise of its teammates.

* * *

"Finally I get to ditch you," Wil, standing at the entrance to Rustboro City, muttered audibly.

"Aw, you don't mean that," May glared at him before breaking into a cheery grin. "And don't forget, my contest is in six days! You'll support me, won't you? You'll watch my contest?"

"What universe are you living in? I told you yesterday, last time I watched a contest, I fell asleep," Wil groaned.

"And this time, you won't," May beamed.

"You know, you sound far more sure of yourself than you should," Wil said, not for the first time feeling a little disarmed by her boundless optimism.

"I'm only sure of things I'm sure of," May smiled. "Except when I'm not, of course," she mumbled.

Wil contemplated her speech for a few moments, then gave up, turning to leave.

"Wait, you need my PokeNav number! How else are we going to link up?"

"I don't know, how about 'ask the nurse at the Pokemon Centre'?"

* * *

It felt good to be strong, Wil decided as he stepped onto the sturdy wooden bridge. Surrounding it was the clear blue lake that separated Rustboro City from Petalburg Woods. As the dark-clad trainer breezed past a couple of girls leaning on the bridge's railing, they questioned hopefully, "How many badges do you have?"

In response, Wil held up his hand, thumb and little finger folded down to form a 3, and the two girls muttered, "Oh," sounding more than a little disappointed.

In retrospect, it was more than a little strange how the two girls spoke in concert. Still, it was great to be able to walk without fear of being challenged by every other trainer; certainly better than being swamped by trainers as he had been between Lavaridge and Mauville. There were still people cocky enough to challenge him, despite a two- to three-badge disadvantage, but those challengers were easy enough to put down.

May, of course, had challenged him with one badge – and won – but then, he hadn't used Solitude, and Spiteful had still been a Zubat then.

Now that Wil had an increasing number of badges, though, he was starting to notice the presence of more skilled trainers along the route. Presumably they had been present along the Mauville-Lavaridge routes as well, but the sheer number of challenges he had fielded had prevented him from paying attention.

And there was one such trainer, standing by a building – advertised as the _Pretty Petal Flower Shop. _He was dressed in a white button-down shirt with a dark blue jacket and matching slacks. A cravat topped off the outfit, giving the trainer a foppish appearance that belied the experience shining through his eyes. He was accompanied by a young lady, dressed in a similarly formal manner.

The man, probably twenty-four or twenty-five, met his eyes. "How many badges do you have?" He asked, a tad formally.

Wil hesitated. "Three," he replied after a moment.

"Wonderful. Would you be up for a challenge?"

Instantly, Wil was on guard. He didn't think he stood a chance against this trainer, however foppish the man appeared. "How many badges do _you_ have?" He posed cautiously, and the man smiled.

"I have eight badges, myself, but it won't be me you'll fight. Sienna?"

The woman beside him gave a small curtsy. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. I- ah, I would be your opponent? I, um, I have... three badges, as well," Sienna stuttered, seemingly uncertain of her speech.

"Dear Sienna," her companion sighed, "you need to be more confident in yourself and in your Pokemon. They are capable; it is you who are holding them back."

"Well, that just fills me with confidence," Wil muttered. If the woman acted like that on the battlefield, her Pokemon were likely to be be far stronger than his own, to be capable of pushing past three Gyms with brute force.

Sienna's boyfriend – or her brother, or whatever the fop was in relation to the woman – seemed determined to get something out of the situation, suggesting, "How about a quick match..."

"Wil," the trainer supplied.

"Wil...?"

"Just Wil," he insisted.

"Very well, Wil. Three badges versus three badges is fair, is it not?"

"One on one, no time limit and no prize?" Wil proposed, not particularly confident of his chances of winning, but the man seemed relieved – perhaps he wasn't confident of his companion's chances, either.

"Very well, that seems fair. Sienna?"

"I, uh, I accept your... your challenge," the woman stuttered.

Wil shuffled his three Pokeballs in his hands, finally selecting one. "Spiteful," he called, and the Crobat burst from its Pokeball, circling its trainer as he backed away to create space to battle.

"Fouine," Sienna called, "Do... do your best?"

Fouine turned out to be an odd, weasel-like Pokemon, and Wil's Pokedex identified it as a Mienfoo, a Fighting-type not native to the Hoenn region.

"Dear Sienna," her companion sighed again, "please try to be confident." The man himself didn't seem particularly confident, though; Wil didn't blame him, as Spiteful would only take a pittance from the Pokemon's fighting-type attacks.

"Um... Fake Out."

"Ascend," Wil instructed – apparently not quickly enough, as the Mienfoo lunged forwards, seemingly teleporting to its target, and Spiteful flinched from the blow, dropping a couple of feet.

"Now follow it up with, um..."

"Toxic," Wil instructed, and the Crobat reacted instantly, spitting poison into the Mienfoo's face before ascending with three quick flaps of its wings.

"Ah... Help me, Owen?"

Her companion – Owen – sighed. "What ranged attacks does Fouine have? What can it use to hit the Crobat from the ground?"

"Um, Jump Kick?"

At the sound of her voice, the Mienfoo leaped into the air, scoring a solid kick to its opponent's face, but despite the Crobat's relative frailty, it shook off the attack easily. As Sienna and Owen continued their conversation, Wil instructed Spiteful to circle lazily.

"Good," Owen coaxed, "but both Flying- and Poison-types resist Fighting attacks, so Jump Kick won't do much. What else?"

"Umm... I know! Swift!"

"Counter with your own Swift," Wil instructed, and the two barrages of star-shaped projectiles collided in midair, only a few surviving to hit either Pokemon; neither attack did much damage.

"I'm not made to be a trainer," Sienna sighed. "I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Owen argued. "You have three badges! That's proof of some skill, isn't it?"

"No, it's proof of my Pokemon's pure strength," she wailed. "All I can do is hold them back."

"You'll learn," the foppishly-dressed Owen persisted, "I was as bad as you when I first started out!"

"But I have _three badges! _If I was going to get better, shouldn't I have gotten better by now?"

"You _are_ better than you used to be!"

Neither trainer took notice when Wil recalled his Crobat and quietly left them behind. Only the Mienfoo watched him go.

* * *

Wil travelled through Petalburg Woods without incident. He emerged from the forest none the worse for wear, with three happy, smiling Pokemon accompanying their happy, smiling trainer.

At least, that's what he wished he could say. Not that Solitude ever smiled, really; any semblance of a smile that ever crossed its face had more in common with Wil's sarcastic smirks than May's exuberant grins.

"Seriously? This is the _third _time," Wil snarled, his voice echoing easily through the trees. "Echo, Peck!"

The target, a Wurmple who had decided to be territorial, scurried away into the thick forest as the Bird Pokemon swooped towards it, chasing it away.

"Come here," he groaned, setting down his bag, still an obnoxious shade of bright red. "Let's see... there we are." His hands revealed an Antidote from the depths of the bag, and a quick spray later, Echo was cured of its poison. "Damn Wurmples, and damn their Poison Stings," he muttered as he shouldered his bag.

"Come on out, Spiteful," he said aloud, waving a hand through the air, and red light exchanged the Swablu for a Crobat. The Poison-typed Pokemon, immune to the harmful effects of poison, fluttered through the air before alighting on a tree, hanging upside down with its wings folded across its body. "Spiteful, get moving," Wil groaned, and the Crobat hissed playfully as it took to the air once more.

Only for a cloud of yellow spores to target the Pokemon in the face. The Crobat dropped, dazed and paralysed, out of the air, landing on a pile of dead leaves.

Wil's eyes followed the Stun Spores' trajectory, alighting on an irritated-looking Shroomish.

"Wonderful," he groaned. "And I've only been in here for half an hour. It's gonna be another one of _those_ days, isn't it?" Wil began to back away from the Shroomish, instructing, "Spiteful, Swift on the mushroom."

Obediently, the Crobat forced its way into the air, aiming a barrage of stars at the Shroomish, and the harried-looking Grass-type quickly left. "Thanks, Spiteful," Wil muttered, patting his shoulder in an invitation for the Pokemon to alight; it did so gratefully, and the two continued their trek through the foliage.

"Thank goodness there's a clear path marked out," Wil muttered to himself as he walked. "I'd hate to have to actually navigate this hellhole. Not that spending the day in here is particularly appealing..."

* * *

It was evening by the time Wil staggered out from the woods and onto a small field of grass overlooking the sea. Of his three Pokemon, Spiteful was still paralysed, Echo was poisoned – again – and Solitude was fast asleep from the aftereffects of a Shroomish's Effect Spore. The trainer had long since run out of Antidotes and Pecha berries. Hence, Wil was more than a little apprehensive when his sharp eyes caught the form of a trainer meandering towards him.

"Yep," he sighed, rather put out. "One of those days."

"Hey," the other trainer called, adjusting the green bush hat on his head, "how many badges do you have?" Now that he was closer, Wil noted that the trainer was dressed head-to-toe in camouflage-printed clothing, from the bush hat on his head to his long-sleeved shirt, long pants, black gloves and combat boots. _Another nutter. Hoenn is full of them._

"Three," Wil replied, and his opponent's face split into a wild grin.

"Perfect. I have two. Care for a battle?"

"I'm not going to get out of this, am I?" Wil groaned, quickly assessing his options. "One-on-one," he hedged, putting on a confident tone.

"Make it four-on-four," Camoman challenged, reaching into the pocket of his green camo pants and tugging out four Pokeballs.

"I hope you realise you can't just overwhelm me with numbers," Wil lied easily, casually pushing his hands into his jacket pockets and palming an extra Pokeball. With a flourish, four Pokeballs appeared in his hands. "Come on, two-on-two. The faster I beat you, the faster I get a bed at the Pokemon Centre."

"Fine," the trainer relented, and Wil sighed mentally, relieved. With Solitude fast asleep, he didn't have a lot of choice; he would be fielding the paralysed Spiteful and the poisoned Echo. _Best not to let him catch on, of course._

"Falzun," the man calls, and a Nuzleaf materialises in front of him.

A split second later, Wil motioned with his hands, and Spiteful burst from its Pokeball, its movements still somewhat jerky from the paralysis. "Toxic," Wil commanded immediately.

"Nature Power," his opponent countered, and the Nuzleaf touched the ground briefly before hurling a green sphere at his Crobat, which weathered the hit easily before retaliating with a Toxic attack.

As he instructed his Pokemon to try to ascend and attack from afar, Wil noted that his Crobat was largely in control of its movement. It moved a tad more slowly and a tad more predictably than it normally would, and occasionally, the Pokemon's muscles would seize up, preventing it from launching attacks and resulting in it dropping a few feet.

"Return," Camoman instructed his Nuzleaf, and a Quagsire materialised before him, immediately firing off a Water Gun at Spiteful.

"Toxic," Wil countered, feeling slightly ill at ease as the Water Gun hit its mark, leaving his Crobat reeling, its muscles simultaneously seizing from the paralysis. _At least this guy isn't too experienced,_ he thought to himself. _I'd say he only just got his second badge. If his Pokemon were stronger, he'd stomp me into the ground easily. _Wil cringed as a second Water Gun hit Spiteful, nearly knocking it out, though this time, Spiteful retaliated with a Toxic attack that splashed ontothe Quagsire's arm.

"One last Water Gun, Rodds," Camoman called.

"Drop," Wil countered, and Spiteful obliged, allowing its wings to relax. The Crobat dropped like a stone from the sky, avoiding the Water Gun, and Wil quickly switched it out before it hit the ground.

"Echo," he called, "Round!"

Strangely, as Echo burst from its Pokeball and let loose a torrent of sound, stunning the Quagsire, it seemed perfectly healthy. "What happened to the poison?" Wil wondered, slightly confused, then, "Never mind. Again, Round!"

"Hit it with Slam!"

"Ack – Echo, ascend! Ow, that's got to hurt," Wil cringed as the heavy Quagsire threw its body into a withering tackle, slamming hard into his Swablu and leaving it chirping dazedly. "Ascend, Echo! Don't let it hit you with that again!"

The Swablu still looked rather dazed, but it chirped in acknowledgement, fluttering higher into the air and narrowly avoiding a second Slam.

"Now just keep hitting it with Round," Wil instructed, and the Swablu let loose another torrent of sound at the cringing Quagsire. The dopey-looking Water-type retaliated with a Water Gun, but Echo easily fluttered out of the way of the stream of water.

"There we go, Echo, we've got it. Just stay up there and keep using Round – no, don't let it hit you with that," Wil groaned as the Swablu took a Water Gun to the face. "Look, it's under the effects of Toxic. The battle's on a timer. All you need to do is keep out of the way. Yeah, just like that." Wil grinned as the Swablu dodged another Water Gun.

"Now, let's see," Wil muttered to himself, tugging out his Pokedex. The screen illuminated his face in the evening's fading light, his eyes flickering from his Pokedex to the now rather one-sided battle that was still ongoing.

Camoman subsequently decided to switch out his struggling Quagsire, bringing in his Nuzleaf. "Nature Power, Falzun," he ordered, and once more, the Nuzleaf touched the ground briefly before hurling a fast-moving green projectile at Echo.

"Strafe with Round," Wil countered, and Echo breezed past the spherical projectile, blasting the Nuzleaf with a Round attack. "Now, where was I?"

_Nuzleaf, male_

_Grass/Dark type_

"No, no," Wil muttered, "wrong Pokemon. Echo! Left, and Peck!"

_Swablu, female_

"That's better..."

_Normal/Flying type_

_Natural Cure: Cures status effects upon returning to the Pokeball_

"That's it," Wil grinned, snapping his fingers and not bothering to read any more. "That's where the poison went! Now, if only I'd known this earlier... Echo! Pull out and Round!"

"Falzun, Nature Power!"

"Has he hit you yet, Echo?" Wil questioned, curious, and the Swablu responded with a few vigorous nods of its head, receiving a green sphere to the face for its efforts. "Eh, just put him out of the battle."

Shaking off the aftereffects of the hit, the Swablu ascended slightly once more before twirling in midair and tucking in its wings, plummeting towards the ground. At what seemed like the last second, it pulled out of its drop, flying parallel to the ground for a short distance and slamming head-on into the Nuzleaf with a withering physical tackle.

Wil cringed. "Ow, that's got to hurt. Wait, you haven't done that before..." Glancing down at his Pokedex again, he scanned downwards, until – "Take Down. No wonder; that looked strong."

A series of irritated chirps drew his attention back to the battle, where Echo, now soaking wet and facing the Quagsire, sent a quick glare at him. "Alright. Round into Take Down," he instructed, closing his Pokedex. "Then Peck."

Twisting past the Water Gun, Echo let loose a point-blank Round attack as it swooped past the Quagsire, ascending quickly with strong flaps of its wings before tucking them in once more and dropping like a stone from the sky. Flaring its wings at the last moment, the Swablu sped towards its opponent, which had just turned to face it, only to receive a face full of Bird Pokemon that knocked it over despite its superior weight. As a finishing touch, Echo turned in midair, landing on the downed Quagsire and pecking it in the face.

When the mud fish didn't continue moving, Wil waved down his Swablu, stretching out an arm for it to land on. His other hand reached forwards, palm up.

"Thanks," he grinned as Camoman pushed a wad of bills into his hand and stormed off towards Petalburg City. "You did great out there, Echo," he praised, and the Cotton Bird cooed happily in reply. "There we go. Come on back into your Po- whoa!"

A small, dark shape swooped from the trees, crashing into the Swablu with alarming speed and knocking it off its perch on Wil's hand. Squawking in alarm, Echo took to the sky.

"What was that? There!" Wil pointed – the speeding blur was once again rushing towards Echo – "Round, dead ahead!"

Reacting with admirable reflex, the Swablu let of a barrage of sound, and the shadowy form visibly faltered as it swerved to dodge the attack – Wil's eyes focused on white and red plumage amidst the darkness. _Definitely_ _a Pokemon. From the way it's flying... probably a Bird Pokemon. _Wil glanced at the Pokedex still in his hand and flipped it open, the light illuminating his face once more.

The Pokemon swerved around, and Wil thought he made out the shape of two dark wings. "Echo, up," he called, somewhat panicked, and the mystery Pokemon's charging attack narrowly missed the Cotton Bird. Unperturbed, it swerved around for a second try.

_Obviously Take Down isn't going to work on such a small, agile target. Instead..._

"Wait for my mark, Echo," Wil instructed as Echo twisted to avoid the charging Pokemon. "Turn around and look for the Pokemon... There! Round!"

Once more, the Swablu launched a Round attack, the blast of sound crashing past the attacking Pokemon. This time, the ranged attack scored a direct hit, and Wil saw the Pokemon flinch. Reacting quickly, he brought his Pokedex up.

_Taillow, male_

_Normal/Flying type_

_Guts: Increases physical attack power when afflicted with a status effect._

"I remember the last time I ran into one of these," Wil muttered to himself as he tucked away his Pokedex, his eyes tracking the movement of the Taillow against the sky. "Odd; most wild Pokemon would try to flee by now. This one has some courage. Echo, he's on your left, try not to lose sight of him. Keep hovering."

The wild Pokemon twisted in midair, sweeping towards his Swablu; both Trainer and Pokemon caught the Pokemon's movement. "Round," Wil ordered, and, expecting the command, Echo loosed another torrent of sound at the Taillow, which swerved adeptly out of the way.

"Swift would be so useful," Wil muttered to himself. "Too bad Spiteful's paralysed, she'd have no trouble with this one. Hey, what's he doing...?" The Taillow was ascending a short distance into the air before it suddenly reversed its movement, plummeting towards the ground.

"That's familiar," Wil realised, recalling how his own Swablu had used its Take Down earlier. "Echo! Round, eight o'clock!" Nothing but a confused chirp answered him, followed shortly by a _thud _and an alarmed squawk, and Wil resolved to teach all of his Pokemon directional commands.

"Keep track of him," Wil instructed, "Round if he comes in, but don't let him hit you." Dropping his bag on the ground, Wil quickly tugged his torchlight from its pocket, twisting a light filter into position and flicking it on. A dim beam of light illuminated the field before Wil switched it off again.

His attention was drawn back to the battle by the sound of Echo launching another Round attack. Twisting, Wil scanned the area until he caught sight of the wild Taillow's movement once again. "There you are," he breathed. "Echo, to the left – Round!"

This time, the Taillow ascended, flying over the Round attack before twisting at the apex of its flight, just over Echo's head, and plummeting down towards it.

"Above you!"

Squawking in alarm, the Swablu tried to twist out of the way, but to no avail; the Taillow scored another direct hit.

"What do you want? Why haven't you run away? Any other wild Pokemon would have," Wil breathed, confused, as Echo fluttered woozily, trying to regain its bearings. "He's going up again. He's trying that aerial tackle again... he was watching the battle just now! Echo! Ascend, get some height... now Round, upwards!"

The Swablu backflipped in midair, dropping a couple of feet, but it loosed a dead-on Round attack that sent the Taillow spinning.

"Why aren't you fleeing?" Wil wondered once more, flicking on his torchlight and tracking the Taillow's movement for a few seconds. The Pokemon looked rather beat up, but it still pressed its attack, swerving out of the way of his torchlight. "Ascend again, Echo," Wil instructed, watching the Taillow speed under Echo's fluttering form before swerving upwards. The wild Pokemon appeared to be pushing for a height advantage, ascending far more quickly than the Swablu could.

Craning his neck upwards to observe their progress, Wil waited for a moment, then called, "Drop." His voice carried to the Swablu despite the distance between them, and the Cotton Bird Pokemon immediately complied, beginning to plummet towards the ground. The Taillow let out a surprised squawk – the first sound it made that battle – before making a sharp u-turn in the air and diving after the Swablu.

"Gotcha," Wil whispered, then, loudly, "Round and ascend!"

Complying immediately, Echo twisted in midair, blasting out a Round attack, then banked a sharp left, gaining height with every flap of its wings. Wil's eyes, however, were fixed on the Taillow, which had swerved to avoid the Round attack and was currently glancing around, trying to locate its foe.

The trainer held up his torchlight and flicked it on; the dim light illuminated the Taillow's disoriented form.

"Take Down," Wil ordered quietly, and Echo folded up its wings and dove at its foe. The Taillow glanced up, but not in time to avoid the brutal Take Down, and it was sent spinning towards the floor.

Wil hesitated for a split second, then sent an empty Pokeball sailing through the air. Miraculously, the Pokeball hit the Taillow dead on, absorbing it into red light and dropping to the ground. The dim light from Wil's torch illuminated the red ball, lying still on the grass, and Echo fluttered down and landed beside it, nudging the ball curiously with its beak before looking up at its trainer.

Wil patted his upper arm twice and stretched out his arm, and Echo took off, fluttering and perching on it. "You did very well," Wil smiled at his Pokemon. "Return."

He tapped the tired Pokemon on the head with its Pokeball, recalling it, then left, scooping up the Taillow's Pokeball along the way.

"Got to get to Petalburg tonight," he muttered. "With a paralysed Pokemon, a sleeping one, a tired one, and a newly caught one, I better try to make the city. It shouldn't be more than a couple hours away..."

* * *

"Hmm?" The nurse behind the Pokemon Centre's counter glanced up from what appeared to be a trashy romance novel. "Oh! Uh... welcome to the Pokemon Centre?"

"Thanks, Nurse," Wil muttered tiredly, staggering to the counter and dropping four Pokeballs on it. "I have two statused Pokemon, one tired one, and one newly caught one," he informed her, "and I'd like a room... wow, it's one in the morning? No wonder I'm so tired..."

"Just a moment," the nurse said, scooping up his four Pokeballs and passing them under the healing machine. "There we go. Your Pokemon have been restored to perfect health," she informed him cheerfully, sliding the four Pokeballs across the counter along with a key. "You're in room 26A."

"That's..."

"Second floor, third room on the right," the nurse rattled off. "Goodnight!"

Wil didn't bother to reply as he plodded slowly up the stairs and into his room.

"Same old desk, same old bed," he muttered to himself, then, tugging open a cupboad, "same old food bowls."

The trainer set four of the bowls on the table, filled them with Pokemon food, and released his first three Pokemon; the trio materialised on the table, immediately noticing the fourth bowl and looking questioningly at Wil.

"We have a new team member," Wil informed them, tossing the Taillow's Pokeball up and down in his hand before flicking it forwards. "Meet Courage."

The newly christened Courage materialised on the table, observing its surroundings with a critical eye, and the atmosphere in the room grew just a little bit more tense.

Echo, oblivious to the heightened tension in the room, tweeted cheerfully and began to eat, and the Taillow fixed it with a baleful gaze for a moment before turning its attention to its own food bowl. Immediately, Spiteful and Solitude began to dig in as well, and Wil, sitting in his bed, relaxed and watched his Pokemon eat, one hand tugging his Pokedex from his jacket.

_Taillow, male_

_Normal/Flying_

_Guts: Increases physical attack power when afflicted with a status effect._

_Known moves:_

_(Level-up)_

_Growl_

_Peck_

_Focus Energy_

_Quick Attack_

_Wing Attack_

_(future attacks - expand)_

_(Egg moves)_

_Brave Bird_

_(Tutored moves)_

_(none)_

"Brave Bird? I've heard of this, but I don't think I've ever seen it." He tapped on his Pokedex, reading aloud, "Damages target; user receives recoil damage. Sounds fun," Wil commented to himself, tucking away his Pokedex. "Hey, what are you looking at me for, Echo? Get back to eating, or aren't you hungry?"

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep – though he wasn't surprised, either.

* * *

**Next chapter due: 21/03/2014**

**Why the long wait? Well, firstly, my buffer is gone; additionally, my free time for the foreseeable future is rather lacking. I can definitely finish Chapter 13 within a few days, but beyond that...**

**Obviously, if the situation changes, you can expect Chapter 13 up early.**


End file.
